Compugen Announces Discovery of Novel VEGF Protein
Monday April 14, 7:04 am ET
Nonexclusive rights granted to MultiGene Vascular Systems for development of gene and cell therapy products for cardiovascular diseases
TEL AVIV, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 14, 2003-- Compugen Ltd. (Nasdaq:CGEN - News) today announced the discovery of VEGF114, a variant protein expressed from the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene.
Compugen has been granted United States patent number 6,506,884 covering the protein sequence of this novel VEGF variant, vectors and host cells containing VEGF114 sequences, and pharmaceutical drugs and detection methods developed using VEGF114 sequences.
Compugen also announced that it has granted to MultiGene Vascular Systems Ltd. (MGVS) a nonexclusive license to develop and commercialize gene and cell therapy products incorporating VEGF114 for use in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. MGVS intends to express the VEGF114 protein and additional proteins in endothelial and smooth muscle cells for use in cell therapy. Under the terms of the agreement, Compugen will receive an equity stake in MGVS and royalties on any future product sales.
VEGF114 is encoded by an alternative mRNA splice variant of the VEGF gene and, measuring 114 amino acids long, is the shortest variant of this gene discovered to date. VEGF proteins are secreted growth factors playing an important role in angiogenesis (growth of blood vessels). Modulation of VEGF activity may have clinical applications in cancer, cardiovascular and related diseases, and fertility control.
Although the VEGF gene has been the subject of extensive worldwide research, and patents have been granted for previously known variants, the existence of this splice variant was unknown. Its discovery by Compugen was made possible through the predictive capability of the Company's LEADS computational biology platform, coupled with additional proprietary transcriptome-based discovery technologies and experimental validation in Compugen's molecular biology laboratory.
"Our discovery of VEGF114 and the receipt of a patent for this novel protein are further validations of our ability to discover new meaningful biological information through our unique multidisciplinary approach. Like our previously announced finding of novel prostate-specific proteins encoded by the PSA gene, this VEGF splice variant would also have been extremely difficult to discover solely through experimentation," said Kinneret Savitsky, Ph.D., Vice President of Experimental Biology at Compugen Ltd. "We look forward to collaborating with MGVS as our first partner in further exploring the therapeutic applications of this discovery," added Dr. Savitsky.
"We are very happy to partner with Compugen, a global leader in combining exact sciences with the life sciences," said Moshe Flugelman, M.D., co-founder of MultiGene Vascular Systems Ltd. "The licensing agreement is in keeping with our commitment to develop novel and highly effective products for cardiovascular therapeutics."
About MultiGene Vascular Systems
MultiGene Vascular Systems (MGVS), located in Haifa, Israel, develops innovative autologous somatic cell therapy products to address a number of vascular-related disorders in a variety of disease areas. The Company's patent-pending therapies utilize multiple genes in conjunction with the patient's own (autologous) endothelial and smooth muscle cells. MGVS currently has three products in its pipeline, all based on the same technology platform. The Company's products are in advanced pre-clinical studies for angiogenesis therapies and bio-engineered grafts. Phase I clinical trials for these cell therapy products are due to begin in the first half of 2004.
About Compugen
Compugen (Nasdaq:CGEN - News), a drug and diagnostic discovery company, is a leader in incorporating ideas and methods from mathematics, computer science and physics into the disciplines of biology, organic chemistry and medicine with the objective of significantly increasing the probability of success of drug and diagnostic development. This unique capability is a proven basis for both in-house discovery of potential therapeutic and diagnostic products, and the development of high value platforms, tools and services. Compugen has established collaborations with leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies such as Abbott Laboratories, Gene Logic, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Novartis, Pfizer and Sigma-Genosys. For additional information, please visit Compugen's Website at www.cgen.com. |
