Exact Sciences to participate in J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference

On December 20, 2018 Exact Sciences Corp. (Nasdaq: EXAS) reported that company management will be presenting at the following investor conference and invited investors to participate by webcast (Press release, Exact Sciences, DEC 20, 2018, View Source [SID1234532218]).

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J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference presentation, San Francisco
Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, at 2:00 p.m. PST
J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference question & answer session, San Francisco
Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, at 2:30 p.m. PST

The webcast can be accessed in the investor relations section of Exact Sciences’ website at www.exactsciences.com.

FDA approves longer-acting calaspargase pegol-mknl for ALL

On December 20, 2018 Servier reported the the Food and Drug Administration approved calaspargase pegol-mknl (ASPARLAS, Servier Pharmaceuticals LLC), an asparagine specific enzyme, as a component of a multi-agent chemotherapeutic regimen for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in pediatric and young adult patients age 1 month to 21 years (Press release, Servier, DEC 20, 2018, View Source [SID1234645703]). This new product provides for a longer interval between doses compared to other available pegaspargase products.

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Approval was based on a demonstration of the achievement and maintenance of nadir serum asparaginase activity above the level of 0.1 U/mL when using calaspargase pegol-mknl, 2500 U/m2 intravenously, every 3 weeks. The pharmacokinetics of calaspargase pegol-mknl were studied when administered in combination with multiagent chemotherapy in 124 patients with B-cell lineage ALL.

The most common (incidence ≥ 10%) grade ≥ 3 adverse reactions were elevated transaminase, increased bilirubin, pancreatitis, and abnormal clotting studies. In a randomized trial, the safety profile of calaspargase pegol-mknl administered every 3 weeks was similar to that of pegaspargase administered every 2 weeks.

The recommended calaspargase pegol-mknl dose is 2,500 units/m2 intravenously administered at a minimum dosing interval of every 21 days.

View full prescribing information for ASPARLAS.

Calaspargase pegol-mknl received FDA orphan product designation.

Healthcare professionals should report all serious adverse events suspected to be associated with the use of any medicine and device to FDA’s MedWatch Reporting System or by calling 1-800-FDA-1088.

Follow the Oncology Center of Excellence on Twitter @FDAOncologyExternal Link Disclaimer.

Check out recent approvals at the OCE’s podcast, Drug Information Soundcast in Clinical Oncology (D.I.S.C.O.).

Vaccitech receives £6M investment from GeneMatrix and Korea Investment Partners

On December 20, 2018 Vaccitech, a clinical stage developer of a universal flu vaccine and other vaccine-related products, reported that it has received a joint £6m investment from a Korean biotech company, GeneMatrix, and venture capital and private equity firm, Korea Investment Partners (Press release, Vaccitech, DEC 20, 2018, View Source [SID1234532187]).

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Vaccitech and GeneMatrix also intend to enter into a formal collaborative agreement that will create business synergies between the companies through expansion of advanced vaccine development programs in Korea. GeneMatrix has recently begun internal vaccine development through a Zika virus vaccine program, backed by a government grant from Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Vaccitech will use the present investment to advance ongoing clinical projects and expand its research and development efforts.

Tom Evans, Chief Executive Officer at Vaccitech, said:

"The GeneMatrix team is experienced in the infectious disease areas, especially in chronic Hepatitis B and Human Papilloma virus, which are a major unmet medical need, and our vaccine programs in such areas will be quite synergistic."

Soo-OK Kim, Chief Executive Officer at GeneMatrix, added:

"We hope the combination of Vaccitech’s T-cell induction platform and GeneMatrix’s molecular and therapeutic platform will lead to better clinical development of advanced vaccines and new therapeutics."

Vaccitech is a spin-out from the University of Oxford and is commercialising decades of viral vector vaccine research conducted at the University’s Jenner Institute. The company’s proprietary T-cell induction platform comprises non-replicating viral vectors that induce some of the most potent cell-mediated immune responses reported in humans against target pathogens and cancer. Vaccitech has multiple vaccine and therapeutic products targeting indications across infectious diseases and oncology.

Illumina to Webcast Upcoming Investor Conference Presentations

On December 20, 2018 Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) reported that its executives will be speaking at the following investor conference and invited investors to participate via webcast (Press release, Illumina, DEC 20, 2018, View Source [SID1234532202]).

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J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, CA on Monday, January 7, 2019
Presentation at 3:00 pm Pacific Time followed by a Q&A Session at 3:30 pm Pacific Time

The live webcast can be accessed in the Investor Relations section of Illumina’s web site under the "company" tab at www.illumina.com. A replay of the presentation will be posted on Illumina’s web site after the event and will be available for at least 30 days following.

Deciphera Pharmaceuticals Initiates Pivotal Phase 3 Clinical Study of Ripretinib (DCC-2618) in Second-line Patients with Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors (“INTRIGUE” Study)

On December 20, 2018 Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCPH), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on addressing key mechanisms of tumor drug resistance, reported that it has initiated a pivotal Phase 3 clinical study, "INTRIGUE", to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of ripretinib (DCC-2618), a broad-spectrum KIT and PDGFRα inhibitor, compared to sunitinib in second-line gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) patients (Press release, Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, DEC 20, 2018, View Source [SID1234532219]).

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"We are extremely pleased that the INTRIGUE Phase 3 study of ripretinib is now open to enroll second-line GIST patients, regardless of their mutational status, who have progressed on, or are intolerant to front-line therapy with imatinib," said Michael D. Taylor, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Deciphera. "If successful, we believe this Phase 3 study could serve as the basis for a regulatory submission for broad use in all second-line GIST patients."

"INTRIGUE is the second pivotal Phase 3 study of ripretinib that Deciphera has initiated in less than one year. As recently announced, we expect to report top-line data from our first Phase 3 clinical study, INVICTUS, in fourth-line and fourth-line-plus GIST patients in mid-2019," continued Dr. Taylor.

"While imatinib is an effective treatment for most patients with early-stage GIST, in almost all patients the disease will eventually progress due to the development of secondary drug resistance mutations," said Professor Michael Heinrich, MD, Cell and Developmental Biology, OHSU Knight Cancer Institute. "A well-tolerated therapy with broad coverage and efficacy across the spectrum of KIT and PDGFRα mutations would represent a much-needed improvement over currently approved therapies for patients with GIST."

About the INTRIGUE Phase 3 Study
The INTRIGUE Phase 3 clinical study is an interventional, randomized, global, multicenter, open-label study to evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of ripretinib compared to sunitinib in patients with GIST previously treated with imatinib. This study was designed to support regulatory approvals in second-line GIST patients in the United States, Europe and other major markets. Patients will be randomized 1:1 to either 150 mg of ripretinib once daily or 50 mg of sunitinib once daily for four weeks followed by two weeks without sunitinib. The primary efficacy endpoint is median progression-free survival (mPFS) as determined by independent radiologic review using modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST). Secondary endpoints as determined by independent radiologic review using modified RECIST include Objective Response Rate (ORR) and Overall Survival (OS). See www.clinicaltrials.gov for further information (NCT03673501).

About the INVICTUS Phase 3 Study
The INVICTUS Phase 3 clinical study is a randomized, double‑blind, placebo-controlled, global, multicenter trial to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of ripretinib compared to placebo in patients with advanced GIST whose previous therapies have included at least imatinib, sunitinib, and regorafenib. This fully enrolled study was designed to support regulatory approvals in fourth-line and fourth-line-plus GIST patients in the United States, Europe and other major markets. Patients were randomized 2:1 to either 150 mg of ripretinib or placebo once daily. The primary efficacy endpoint is median progression-free survival (mPFS) as determined by independent radiologic review using modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST). Secondary endpoints as determined by independent radiologic review using modified RECIST include Objective Response Rate (ORR), Time to Tumor Progression (TTP), and Overall Survival (OS). See www.clinicaltrials.gov for further information (NCT03353753).

About Ripretinib
Ripretinib (DCC-2618) is an investigational KIT and PDGFRα kinase switch control inhibitor in clinical development for the treatment of KIT and/or PDGFRα-driven cancers, including gastrointestinal stromal tumors, or GIST, systemic mastocytosis, or SM, and other cancers. Ripretinib was specifically designed to improve the treatment of GIST patients by inhibiting a broad spectrum of mutations in KIT and PDGFRα. Ripretinib is a KIT and PDGFRα inhibitor that blocks initiating and secondary KIT mutations in exons 9, 11, 13, 14, 17, and 18, involved in GIST as well as the primary D816V exon 17 mutation involved in SM. Ripretinib also inhibits primary PDGFRα mutations in exons 12, 14 and 18, including the exon 18 D842V mutation, involved in a subset of GIST.

About Deciphera Pharmaceuticals
Deciphera Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on improving the lives of cancer patients by tackling key mechanisms of drug resistance that limit the rate and/or durability of response to existing cancer therapies. Our small molecule drug candidates are directed against an important family of enzymes called kinases, known to be directly involved in the growth and spread of many cancers. We use our deep understanding of kinase biology together with a proprietary chemistry library to purposefully design compounds that maintain kinases in a "switched off" or inactivated conformation. These investigational therapies comprise tumor-targeted agents designed to address therapeutic resistance causing mutations and immuno-targeted agents designed to control the activation of immunokinases that suppress critical immune system regulators, such as macrophages. We have used our platform to develop a diverse pipeline of tumor-targeted and immuno-targeted drug candidates designed to improve outcomes for patients with cancer by improving the quality, rate and/or durability of their responses to treatment.