What happened

Shares of Compugen (CGEN -1.05%) were jumping 9.1% higher as of 11:59 a.m. EDT on Wednesday. The big gain came after the clinical-stage drugmaker provided its second-quarter update.

So what

This wasn't a case where a biotech stock soared after posting tremendous revenue growth in its quarterly results. Compugen didn't have any revenue in Q2. However, its net loss of $0.11 per share narrowly beat analysts' consensus estimate of a net loss of $0.12 per share.

Two scientists looking at a monitor.

Image source: Getty Images.

Investors are most interested in Compugen's pipeline progress. CEO Anat Cohen-Dayag noted that the company recently initiated three clinical studies. All are early stage studies featuring lead candidate COM701 in combination with one or more other drugs.

Cohen-Dayag said in Compugen's press release that the new clinical studies "leave us uniquely positioned as the only company, in a clinical setting, evaluating anti-PVRIG, anti-TIGIT and anti-PD-1 combinations." She added that Compugen's combination strategy gives the company "a strong first mover advantage."

Now what

Compugen expects to report results from its triple-combination study of COM701 with Bristol Myers Squibb's immunotherapy Opdivo and anti-TIGIT antibody, BMS-986207, later this year. The company also anticipates a data readout from a study evaluating experimental anti-TIGIT drug COM902 as a monotherapy by the end of 2021.