Compugen (NASDAQ:CGEN) has completed enrollment in a randomized trial of its ovarian cancer treatment candidate COM701 and expects to report results by the end of the first quarter of 2027, executives said on the company’s third-quarter earnings call.
The company also pointed to an expected phase 3 readout in the second half of 2027 for rilvegostomig, a drug being developed by AstraZeneca, and introduced an expansion of its drug-target discovery platform. Chief Financial Officer David Silberman said Compugen’s cash runway is expected to fund its operating plans into 2029, assuming no further cash inflows.
Ovarian Cancer Trial Fully Enrolled
President and CEO Dr. Eran Ophir said the company will assess the totality of the data, including the magnitude and durability of any separation between the treatment and placebo groups. He also identified the proportion of patients who remain progression-free at six months as an important measure.
Patients who relapse within six months of platinum-based chemotherapy are generally considered to have platinum-resistant disease, which has a poorer prognosis and fewer treatment options, Ophir said. He added that, if successful, COM701 could delay subsequent treatment and extend the chemotherapy-free interval.
Compugen’s working assumption is that median progression-free survival in the placebo group may be approximately four months, Ophir said. He cautioned that the actual result will depend on the characteristics of patients enrolled and treated in the study. Two recent studies reported control-arm median progression-free survival of less than three months, but their patient populations were not directly comparable with MAIA-ovarian, he said.
Partnered Programs Advance
AstraZeneca’s rilvegostomig is being studied in 12 ongoing phase 3 trials, including in lung, biliary tract and gastric cancers, according to Ophir. High-level results from the ARTEMIDE-Biliary01 trial are now anticipated in the second half of 2027.
That study is evaluating rilvegostomig plus investigator’s choice of chemotherapy against chemotherapy alone as adjuvant treatment in 760 participants with biliary tract cancer at risk of recurrence after surgery.
Ophir said Compugen is eligible for up to $195 million in regulatory and commercial milestone payments and up to mid-single-digit royalties on worldwide rilvegostomig sales. Asked whether the trial readout itself would trigger a payment, he said the next milestone is tied to acceptance of a biologics license application. He noted that Compugen had added $25 million to that milestone when it monetized a small portion of its royalties to AstraZeneca.
Compugen’s other partnered candidate, GS-0321, formerly COM503, is in an ongoing phase 1 dose-escalation trial under a license agreement with Gilead. Ophir said the company could not provide details on the study’s stage or a timeline for clinical data disclosure because of the nature of the collaboration. Disclosure will require Gilead’s approval, he said.
Compugen has received $90 million in gross payments from Gilead and is eligible for up to $758 million in additional milestones, plus tiered royalties ranging from single digits to low double digits, Ophir said.
Discovery Expansion and Financial Results
Compugen introduced UnigenX as an expansion of its AI-powered Unigen discovery engine into tumor-associated antigens. Ophir said the platform is intended to identify targets that could be used in treatments such as T-cell engagers, as well as potential target combinations intended to improve specificity and coverage.
For the third quarter, revenue rose to approximately $3.8 million from $1.9 million a year earlier. Silberman said revenue in both periods reflected recognition of portions of upfront and investigational new drug milestone payments from the Gilead agreement.
Research and development expenses were approximately $5.8 million in each quarter, while general and administrative expenses rose to $2.3 million from $2.2 million. The net loss narrowed to approximately $5.8 million, or $0.06 per share, from $7 million, or $0.07 per share, a year earlier.
Compugen ended September 2026 with approximately $117.5 million in cash equivalents, short-term bank deposits and marketable securities.
About Compugen (NASDAQ:CGEN)
Compugen Ltd. (NASDAQ: CGEN) is an Israeli clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing novel therapeutic and drug targets for cancer and other diseases. The company uses computational biology and artificial intelligence-based approaches to identify previously unrecognized biological mechanisms and translate them into potential medicines.
Compugen’s research has primarily centered on immuno-oncology, with an emphasis on regulating immune responses within the tumor microenvironment.
