CGEN-226 is a soluble splice variant of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor 1 gene. This previously unknown splice variant was predicted and selected through the use of Compugen's in silico modeling of the human transcriptome and proteome for the discovery of novel molecules for diagnostic and therapeutic uses. Following its in silico prediction and selection, CGEN-226 was validated experimentally, and patent applications covering this novel splice variant were made for various diagnostic and therapeutic applications.

Prior to the Compugen discovery and validation of CGEN-226, a different soluble form of the VEGF receptor 1 was shown to be produced by the placenta and to be elevated in the blood stream of pregnant women who develop preeclampsia. However, the Compugen discovered CGEN-226 has subsequently been shown to be the primary soluble VEGF receptor 1 in the circulation of women with preeclampsia. This finding further supports Compugen's prediction that this variant is a candidate biomarker suitable to serve as a basis for a diagnostic test discriminating normal pregnancy and that with preeclampsia, even prior to clinical manifestation.

About Preeclampsia & Eclampsia

Preeclampsia, also referred to as toxemia, is the most common of the dangerous pregnancy complications, occurring in 5-8% of pregnancies and affecting both the mother and the fetus. Preeclampsia, when present, usually appears during the second half of pregnancy and is diagnosed when a pregnant woman develops high blood pressure and the presence of significant amounts of protein in the mother's urine (Proteinuria). Blood pressure elevation involves generalized damage to the maternal endothelium, kidney and liver. The exact pathogenesis of preeclampsia is still not certain. Studies have shown that hypoxia, resulting from inadequate blood supply to the placenta, leads to a release of systemic vasoactive compounds, among them soluble VEGF receptor 1, that cause an exaggerated inflammatory response, vasoconstriction, endothelial damage and restriction of placental growth.

Eclampsia is the final and most severe phase of preeclampsia and occurs when preeclampsia is left untreated. In addition to the previously mentioned symptoms, women with eclampsia often have seizures. Eclampsia can cause coma and even death of the mother and fetus or baby, and can occur before, during or after childbirth.

Preeclampsia is currently detected only after its onset, usually by routine measurement of blood pressure in the third trimester. If preeclampsia is recognized, in almost all cases the mother will undergo either Caesarean section or induction of labor. Therefore, the ability to accurately predict patients at risk for this dangerous condition would be of great value, enabling close surveillance and dramatically reducing costs of antenatal care and neonatal intensive care.

About Splice Variants

The phenomena of alternative splicing, whereby a single gene can result in multiple transcripts (i.e. "splice variants") and thereafter, proteins, is now well known and should be taken into consideration in essentially all aspects of molecular biology. In the late 1990's Compugen pioneered this understanding through the use of its first infrastructure platform, LEADS. By incorporating the predictive modeling of alternative splicing and other proprietary genomic understandings, LEADs facilitated the in silico prediction of the human transcriptome, and subsequently the human proteome. This early understanding of alternative splicing and additional biological processes, and the resulting predictive transcriptome and proteome, have served as a basis for many of Compugen's subsequent research breakthroughs and discovery platforms. The importance and extent of alternative splicing, as earlier predicted by Compugen, was further evidenced upon the completion of the Human Genome Project.

About Compugen

Compugen is a leading drug and diagnostic product candidate discovery company. Unlike traditional high throughput trial and error experimental based discovery, Compugen's discovery efforts are based on in silico (by computer) prediction and selection utilizing a growing number of field focused proprietary discovery platforms accurately modeling biological processes at the molecular level. The resulting product candidates are then validated through in vitro and in vivo experimental studies and out-licensed for further development and commercialization under various forms of revenue sharing agreements. Compugen's collaborations include Bayer Schering Pharma, Biosite, Medarex, Inc., Merck & Co., Inc., Merck Serono, Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics (a Johnson & Johnson company), Roche, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, Inc., and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. In 2002, Compugen established an affiliate, Evogene Ltd. www.evogene.com (TASE: EVGN.TA), to utilize certain of the Company's in silico predictive discovery capabilities in agricultural biotechnology. For additional information, please visit Compugen's corporate website at www.cgen.com.

This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include words such as "may", "expects", "anticipates", "believes", and "intends", and describe opinions about future events. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Compugen to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of these risks are: acceptance of its business model by major pharmaceutical companies; possible inability to become profitable; inability to raise capital to sustain its operations; inability to enter into favorable arrangements with collaborators; inability of collaborators to successfully develop drugs based on our candidates; changes in relationships with collaborators; the impact of competitive products and technological changes; risks relating to the development of new products; and the ability to implement technological improvements. These and other factors are identified and more fully explained under the heading "Risk Factors" in Compugen's annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE: Compugen Ltd.

Compugen Ltd. 
Marjie Hadad, +972-54-536-5220 
Global Media Liaison 
marjie@cgen.com

Expected next investor conference call information:
Conference Call Date: 10/27/2009
Conference Call Time (ET): 10:00 AM
Conference Call URL: http://www.corporate-ir.net/ireye/ir_site.zhtml?script=1000&ticker=CGEN

Drivers of Compugen's continuous service improvement include service agreements that over the years have required more rapid response and resolution, better results, better documentation and competitive pricing across a growing range of service deliverables, geographies and customer types.

Said Gerry Skipwith, VP Compugen Services, "We take the benchmarks that Service 800 identifies seriously, and have found the customer satisfaction survey data they provide us most helpful in refining our understanding of service issues as we deliver service to a larger and larger base of customers. Of course, I'm proud of the Compugen Services organization for the fine work they do, and challenge them to take service to the next level. The goal is to be the best in the world at matching service commitments to service delivery, every time out."

Compugen handles a broad range of service requirements for an exacting clientele. Delivery is governed by service-level agreements in both remote and urban centres all across Canada. Recently Compugen announced its completion of its half millionth service call and has been continuously upgrading it service training, service dispatch and monitoring systems and broadening its service certification roster.

IBM, Lenovo and Hewlett-Packard have also recognized Compugen for its service excellence.

About Compugen

Compugen is Canada's largest privately-owned and operated IT solution and service provider. Founded in 1981 by its current president and CEO, Harry Zarek, Compugen provides practical, real-world solutions and a comprehensive customer-focused portfolio of support services. Delivering national coverage with offices from coast to coast, Compugen's experienced team of IT professionals helps mid-sized and large corporations and government agencies across Canada with enterprise-level solutions that optimize IT costs and leverage technology for better business results. Compugen is a top-level partner in Canada for Cisco, Citrix, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Lenovo, Microsoft, VMware, Xerox and other technology leaders.

Contacts:
Compugen Inc.
Donald Anderson
Marketing Projects Manager
(905) 695-5123
danderson@compugen.com

SOURCE: Compugen Inc.

mailto:danderson@compugen.com

As previously projected, current revenues continue to be insignificant with no revenues reported for the third quarter of 2009 compared with $6,000 for the third quarter of 2008. Revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2009, were $225,000, compared with $327,000 for the same period in 2008.

The net loss for the most recent quarter was $1.9 million (including a non-cash expense of $460,000 related to stock based compensation), or $0.06 per share, compared with a net loss of $3.3 million (including a non-cash expense of $484,000 related to stock based compensation), or $0.12 per share, for the corresponding quarter of 2008. The net loss for the first nine months of 2009 was $1.8 million (including a non-cash expense of $1.1 million related to stock based compensation), or $0.06 per share, compared with a net loss of $8.7 million (including a non-cash expense of $1.2 million related to stock based compensation), or $0.31 per share, for the same period in 2008.

The significant reduction in net loss for the first nine months of 2009 reflects the sale by Compugen during the second quarter of 2009 of a portion of its holdings of Evogene Ltd. shares for approximately $3.6 million, which is included in Other Income for the first nine months of 2009. At September 30, 2009, the market value of Compugen's remaining 1.15 million Evogene shares was $4.0 million, compared with a market value of $3.9 million for the 2.15 million Evogene shares owned as of December 31, 2008 prior to the sale. These amounts, and the proceeds received from the Evogene shares sale in the second quarter of 2009, reflect the substantial increase in the market price of the Evogene shares during 2009.

Research and development expenses for the third quarter of 2009 were $1.4 million compared with $2.3 million for the third quarter of 2008 and remained the Company's largest expense. Research and development expenses for the first nine months of 2009 were $4.4 million compared with $6.6 million for the comparable period in 2008. These amounts are before the deduction of governmental and other grants, which totaled for the third quarter ended September 30, 2009, $180,000 compared with $158,000 for the corresponding quarter in 2008, and $697,000 for the first nine months of 2009, compared with $493,000 for the comparable period in 2008.

As of September 30, 2009, Compugen had $5.7 million in cash and cash equivalents, not including its holding of 1.15 million Evogene shares as discussed above. With the inclusion of the current market value for these Evogene shares, the Company would have sufficient resources to meet its expected cash requirements through early 2011, assuming no significant milestones, upfront fees, or additional funds from any other source were obtained prior to such time. The Company previously projected that its total net cash usage for calendar year 2010 would be less than $8 million.

Conference Call and Web Cast Information

Compugen will hold a conference call to discuss its third quarter results and other recent announcements on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. EDT. To access the conference call, please dial 1-888-668-9141 from the US or +972-3-918-0609 internationally. The call will also be available via live webcast through Compugen's Website, located at the following link.

A replay of the conference call will be available approximately two hours after the completion of the live conference call. To access the replay, please dial 1-877-332-1104 from the US or +972-3-925-5901 internationally. The replay will be available until 12 noon EDT on October 30, 2009.

(Tables to follow)

About Compugen

Compugen is a leading drug and diagnostic product candidate discovery company. Unlike traditional high throughput trial and error experimental based discovery, Compugen's discovery efforts are based on in-silico (by computer) prediction and selection utilizing a growing number of field focused proprietary discovery platforms accurately modeling biological processes at the molecular level. The resulting product candidates are then validated through in vitro and in vivo experimental studies and out-licensed for further development and commercialization under various forms of revenue sharing agreements. Compugen's collaborations include Bayer Schering Pharma, Biosite, Medarex, Inc., Merck & Co., Inc., Merck Serono, Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics (a Johnson & Johnson company), Roche, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, Inc., and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. In 2002, Compugen established an affiliate, Evogene Ltd. www.evogene.com (TASE: EVGN.TA), to utilize certain of the Company's in-silico predictive discovery capabilities in agricultural biotechnology. For additional information, please visit Compugen's corporate Web site at www.cgen.com.

This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include words such as "may", "expects", "anticipates", "believes", and "intends", and describe opinions about future events. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Compugen to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of these risks are: acceptance of its business model by major pharmaceutical companies; possible inability to become profitable; inability to raise capital to sustain its operations; inability to enter into favorable arrangements with collaborators; inability of collaborators to successfully develop drugs based on our candidates; changes in relationships with collaborators; the impact of competitive products and technological changes; risks relating to the development of new products; and the ability to implement technological improvements. These and other factors are identified and more fully explained under the heading "Risk Factors" in Compugen's annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

COMPUGEN LTD.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(U.S. dollars in thousands, except for share and per-share amounts)
                                                                      Three Months Ended      Nine Months Ended
                                                                      September 30,           September 30,
                                                                      2009        2008        2009        2008
                                                                      Unaudited   Unaudited   Unaudited   Unaudited
Revenues                                                              -           6           225         327
Cost of revenues                                                      -           -           -           7
Research and development expenses                                     1,447       2,286       4,370       6,595
Less: governmental and other grants                                   (180)       (158)       (697)       (493)
Research and development expenses, net                                1,267       2,128       3,673       6,102
Sales and marketing expenses                                          175         339         660         1,002
General and administrative expenses                                   582         915         1,570       2,429
Total operating expenses *                                            2,024       3,382       5,903       9,533
Operating loss                                                        (2,024)     (3,376)     (5,678)     (9,213)
Financing income, net                                                 181         77          217         438
Other income (loss)                                                   (24)        12          3,657       39
Net loss from continuing operations                                   (1,867)     (3,287)     (1,804)     (8,736)
Income (loss) from discontinued operations                            14          (1)         14          (14)
Net loss                                                              (1,853)     (3,288)     (1,790)     (8,750)
Basic and diluted loss per ordinary share from continuing operations  (0.06)      (0.12)      (0.06)      (0.31)
Basic and diluted loss per ordinary share from discontinued           -           -           -           -
operations
Basic and diluted net loss per ordinary share                         (0.06)      (0.12)      (0.06)      (0.31)
Weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding                28,552,927  28,480,592  28,526,084  28,408,597
* Includes stock based compensation

COMPUGEN LTD.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS DATA
(U.S. dollars, in thousands)
                                                                       September  December
                                                                       30,        31,
                                                                       2009       2008
                                                                       Unaudited  Audited
ASSETS
Current assets
Cash, cash equivalents, short term deposits and marketable securities  5,656      7,248
Cash held in favor of other consortium partners                        50         233
Investment in Evogene                                                  3,991      3,858
Receivables and prepaid expenses                                       408        768
Total current assets                                                   10,105     12,107
Long-term investments
Other assets                                                           25         41
Severance pay fund                                                     1,174      1,038
Total long-term investments                                            1,199      1,079
Property and equipment, net                                            721        1,058
Total assets                                                           12,025     14,244
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities
Accounts payable and accrued expenses                                  1,231      2,881
Deferred revenues                                                      62         100
Liabilities related to discontinued operations                         -          12
Total current liabilities                                              1,293      2,993
Long-term liabilities
Accrued severance pay                                                  1,340      1,248
Total shareholders' equity                                             9,392      10,003
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity                             12,025     14,244

SOURCE: Compugen Ltd.

Compugen Ltd. 
Marjie Hadad, +972-54-536-5220 
Global Media Liaison 
marjie@cgen.com