In silico cancer fighter comes to life

Researchers have discovered and validated a drug target for fighting multiple cancers following the in silico prediction via a Compugen discovery platform for monoclonal antibody targets.

CGEN-671--a membrane splice variant of CD55, a known drug target for gastric cancer--targets multiple epithelial tumors, or carcinomas, which account for breast, colorectal, lung, ovary, prostate and skin cancers, according to a Compugen announcement.

The studies that confirmed -671's existence also demonstrated that, compared with normal tissue samples, it is highly expressed in colon carcinoma tissue, the Compugen statement adds. In addition, its expression level is nearly 200 times lower than that of CD55, suggesting that -671 should be a superior drug target candidate for cancer treatment.

The discovery and validation of CGEN-671--as well as an ongoing evaluation with Bayer Schering Pharma of a Compugen-discovered tumor target and its splice variants--show the potential of combining synergistic predictive platforms, says Anat Cohen-Dayag, president and co-CEO of Compugen, in an announcement.

Compugen also is working with Pfizer on predictive discovery of therapeutic peptide product candidates for three drug targets. Discovery will be conducted by Compugen with funding from Pfizer for prospective rights.

- read the CGEN-671 announcement
- here's Compugen's Bayer Schering Pharma release
- see the Pfizer release

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