Compugen Ltd. (Nasdaq: CGEN; TASE: CGEN) CEO Dr. Anat Cohen-Dayag promises that, finally, after ten years of saying that it has completed the computerized models for predicting the effectiveness of drug candidates, the company will really see a return on its investment.
Compugen originally provided drug discovery services for large pharmaceutical companies. When it realized that it could not generate substantial revenue from this business, it switched to developing drugs independently.
"This year, we decided that this is it - we have the scientific capability. We've developed the critical capabilities that position us well ahead of our competitors, and the time has come to realize it," she told "Globes" in an exclusive interview. Compugen has again changed its business model, and now develops drugs by more tightly conforming to the needs of large drug development companies.
Compugen is now also focusing on later stage drug candidates, including though animal trials. For the first time, the company is talking about a specific product candidate, CGEN-15001, a protein for autoimmune diseases, and its counterpart, a drug target candidate for mAb therapy in oncology.
"In the past 2-3 years, we sought to prove something to the pharmaceutical companies," says Cohen-Dayag. "We showed them that not only our tests, but also outside experts, found that our products kept their promises. Today, they no longer tell us, 'Show us the results', but 'That's interesting'.
"Compugen's value will no longer depend on promoting this or that product, but on the ability to win assessments and collaborations with the large pharmaceutical companies. When we do this, it will also attract investors. If we succeed in this task, it will affect our value long before we bring a product to market."
Compugen's revenue quadrupled to $1.1 million in 2010 from $250,000 for the corresponding quarter. Net loss nearly doubled to $7.2 million from $3.8 million.
Compugen's share price rose 2% in early trading on Nasdaq today to $5.12, giving a market cap of $171 million, after rising 0.2% on the TASE to NIS 18.18.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 15, 2011
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