Baize Investments (Israel) Ltd. has invested $8 million in Compugen Ltd. (Nasdaq: CGEN; TASE: CGEN) to finance research in exchange for a financial interest in oncology antibody drug candidates. Baize, run by chairman Murray Goldman, invested $5 million in Compugen a year ago to support its drug pipeline program.
Baize will receive a financial interest in certain monoclonal antibody (mAb) product candidates that achieve a specified development milestone, or have been licensed out, during the next three years. Baize also has the right, during the first quarter of 2014, to waive its rights to all future benefits from this financial interest in exchange for 1,455,000 Compugen shares.
Compugen will use the proceeds to significantly broaden and accelerate its mAb activities for oncology and immunology as part of its pipeline program. The company will increase the number mAb drug candidates being developed in parallel, and will carry out preclinical development of drug candidates, which were previously intended to be obtained solely from third parties.
Compugen president and CEO Dr. Anat Cohen-Dayag said, "During the last two years we were pleased to disclose successful validation of a number of our pipeline program therapeutic proteins, such as CGEN-15001 and CGEN-15091, in animal models of autoimmune diseases. This progress continues as we concurrently discuss potential arrangements for further product development and commercialization under royalty bearing licenses and other forms of collaboration."
Dayag added, "mAbs are the most rapidly growing drug class, with over 20 mAbs already approved for therapeutic use in the US and in addition have demonstrated a higher success rate in development than other drug classes. However, a key continuing challenge is the identification of novel promising targets."
Compugen's share price rose 1.4% by mid-afternoon on the TASE today to NIS 17.56, after rising 1.5% on Nasdaq yesterday to $4.65, giving a market cap of $158 million.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 21, 2011
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