On May 8, 2018 Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCPH), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on addressing key mechanisms of tumor drug resistance, reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018, and provided an update on recent clinical and corporate developments (Press release, Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, MAY 8, 2018, View Source [SID1234526229]).
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"Deciphera is off to a strong start in 2018, with data presented at last month’s AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting adding to the growing body of research supporting the favorable safety and tolerability profile of DCC-2618, our lead product candidate, and its ability to inhibit a broad range of primary and secondary KIT mutations and primary PDGFRα mutations that arise in drug resistant gastrointestinal stromal tumor patients," said Michael D. Taylor, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Deciphera. "We look forward to presenting additional data from the Phase 1 DCC-2618 expansion study throughout the year, including at the upcoming ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) meeting in June. Enrollment in our ongoing Phase 3 INVICTUS study in fourth-line and fourth-line plus GIST is proceeding on track, and we continue to expect the initiation of a second pivotal study in second-line GIST later this year."
Clinical Programs
DCC-2618
Reported preclinical data at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) in April 2018 demonstrating that compared to the in vitro profiles of the FDA-approved kinase inhibitors imatinib, sunitinib, regorafenib, and midostaurin, and the investigational agent avapritinib (BLU-285), DCC-2618 demonstrated the broadest profile of inhibition of primary and secondary KIT mutations and primary PDGFRα mutations.
The Company also reported updated clinical data at the 2018 AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting demonstrating the safety and tolerability profile of DCC-2618 in 100 GIST patients treated at the recommended Phase 2 dose of 150 mg QD, which supports the selection of this dose for the ongoing pivotal, randomized Phase 3 INVICTUS study. As of March 19, 2018, 81 of 137 GIST patients treated at 100 mg or more per day and enrolled as of the cut-off date of January 18, 2018, remained on study. Of these, 46 patients were treated for more than six months, including 10 patients who were treated for more than 12 months.
Enrollment continues in the dose expansion stage of the ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial for DCC-2618 in patients with solid tumors, including GIST and systemic mastocytosis. The Company will present updated data from this clinical trial in a poster presentation and discussion titled "Mutation profile of drug resistant gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) patients (pts) enrolled in the phase 1 study of DCC-2618," at the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting on Saturday, June 2, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois.
Rebastinib
Investigators at Albert Einstein College of Medicine presented preliminary clinical data at the 2018 AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting from their ongoing Phase 1b study with rebastinib, the Company’s selective TIE2 immunokinase inhibitor, in combination with anti-tubulin therapy in patients with metastatic breast cancer. Deciphera is encouraged by the preliminary findings from the investigator-sponsored study and expects to initiate a company-sponsored Phase 1b study with rebastinib later in 2018.
First Quarter 2018 Financial Results
Cash Position: As of March 31, 2018, Deciphera Pharmaceuticals reported cash and cash equivalents of $179.9 million compared to cash and cash equivalents of $196.8 million as of December 31, 2017. This decrease was primarily related to cash used in operating activities.
R&D Expenses: Research and development expenses for the first quarter of 2018 were $16.9 million compared to $5.7 million for the same period in 2017. The increase was primarily due to an increase in spending on the DCC-2618 program of $7.3 million as a result of clinical trial costs related to the ongoing Phase 1 trial and the pivotal Phase 3 INVICTUS study in fourth-line GIST that began enrollment in January 2018. Clinical costs also increased as a result of start-up activities related to the pivotal Phase 3 study in second-line GIST, which is expected to be initiated in the second half of 2018. Manufacturing costs increased for DCC-2618 as a result of new process development to support anticipated greater drug requirements for commercialization as well as the manufacture of registration lots required to support a new drug application. Manufacturing costs for DCC-3014 increased $0.4 million in preparation for our current and planned clinical trials. In addition, personnel related and other costs increased an aggregate of $3.5 million as the result of an increase in costs associated with headcount, early-stage drug discovery programs and consulting fees. Personnel costs for each of the first quarters of 2018 and 2017 included non-cash share-based compensation expense of $1.0 million and $0.1 million, respectively.
G&A Expenses: General and administrative expenses for the first quarter of 2018 were $5.0 million, compared to $2.1 million for the same period in 2017. The increase was primarily due to an increase in legal and professional fees as a result of various advisory fees related to ongoing operations as a public company as well as costs incurred for pre-commercialization activities. In addition, non-cash share-based compensation was $1.1 million and $0.3 million for each of the first quarters of 2018 and 2017, respectively.
Net Loss: For the first quarter of 2018, Deciphera reported a net loss of $21.4 million, or $0.66 per share, compared with a net loss of $7.7 million, or $0.66 per share for the same period in 2017.