On November 4, 2019 Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCPH) reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2019 and provided a general update on clinical and corporate developments (Press release, Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, NOV 4, 2019, View Source [SID1234550231]).
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"We believe the Breakthrough Therapy Designation we received from the FDA underscores the potential for ripretinib to transform the treatment landscape for patients with advanced GIST," said Steve Hoerter, President and Chief Executive Officer of Deciphera. "Based on the positive results from the Phase 3 INVICTUS study, we remain on track for our planned NDA submission for ripretinib in the first quarter of 2020. In addition, we provided important new clinical updates on rebastinib and DCC-3014 at the recent AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper)-NCI-EORTC meeting and we continue to progress our broad portfolio of novel product candidates all discovered here at Deciphera."
Recent Highlights and Upcoming Milestones
Ripretinib
Presented positive top-line data from the INVICTUS pivotal Phase 3 clinical study evaluating the safety and efficacy of ripretinib in fourth-line and fourth-line plus GIST patients.
FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) for ripretinib for the treatment of patients with advanced GIST who have received prior treatment with imatinib, sunitinib and regorafenib.
Company expects to submit a New Drug Application (NDA) to the FDA for ripretinib for the treatment of patients with advanced GIST who have received prior treatment with imatinib, sunitinib and regorafenib in the first quarter of 2020.
Presented updated data from the ongoing Phase 1 clinical study of ripretinib in patients with second-line through fourth-line plus GIST at the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper)-NCI-EORTC AACR-NCI-EORTC (Free AACR-NCI-EORTC Whitepaper) International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics (EORTC-NCI-AACR) (Free ASGCT Whitepaper) (Free EORTC-NCI-AACR Whitepaper). The Company believes the updated data continue to support the ongoing INTRIGUE pivotal Phase 3 clinical study comparing ripretinib to sunitinib for the treatment of second-line GIST patients who have previously received imatinib.
Established ripretinib Expanded Access Program (EAP) for patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic GIST who have received treatment with prior therapies. The ripretinib EAP provides a pathway for eligible patients to gain access to this investigational medicine outside of clinical trials when no comparable or satisfactory alternative therapy option is available.
DCC-3014
Presented data from the Phase 1 dose escalation study of DCC-3014, an oral inhibitor of CSF1R, in patients with advanced solid tumors, at the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper)-NCI-EORTC AACR-NCI-EORTC (Free AACR-NCI-EORTC Whitepaper) International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics (EORTC-NCI-AACR) (Free ASGCT Whitepaper) (Free EORTC-NCI-AACR Whitepaper). The Phase 1 data demonstrated tolerability, pharmacokinetics and biomarker mechanistic proof-of-concept in patients with advanced malignancies.
Company plans to present preliminary data from initial tenosynovial giant cell tumor (TGCT) patients at the 2019 Connective Tissue Oncology Society (CTOS) Annual Meeting being held November 13-16 in Tokyo, Japan.
Rebastinib
Presented data from the ongoing Phase 1b/2 clinical study of rebastinib, an oral TIE2 kinase inhibitor, in combination with paclitaxel at the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper)-NCI-EORTC AACR-NCI-EORTC (Free AACR-NCI-EORTC Whitepaper) International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics (EORTC-NCI-AACR) (Free ASGCT Whitepaper) (Free EORTC-NCI-AACR Whitepaper). In Part 1 of the ongoing Phase 1b/2 study, the combination of rebastinib and paclitaxel exhibited encouraging preliminary anti-tumor activity across treatment arms and was generally well tolerated.
DCC-3116
Presented preclinical data for DCC-3116, a potential first-in-class autophagy inhibitor designed to treat mutant RAS cancers at the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper)-NCI-EORTC AACR-NCI-EORTC (Free AACR-NCI-EORTC Whitepaper) International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics (EORTC-NCI-AACR) (Free ASGCT Whitepaper) (Free EORTC-NCI-AACR Whitepaper). In vivo and in vitro data demonstrated DCC-3116 is a potent, selective and tight-binding inhibitor of ULK kinase, and represents a differentiated approach to autophagy inhibition and a potential first-in-class opportunity for a new therapeutic modality in mutant RAS cancers.
Recent Corporate Updates
In October 2019, Deciphera announced the appointment of Matthew L. Sherman, M.D. as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Sherman brings over 25 years of experience as a physician-scientist in clinical drug development in oncology and hematology at leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.
In the third quarter of 2019, Deciphera announced the closing of an underwritten public offering of 12,432,431 shares at a public offering price of $37.00 per share, which included the exercise in full by the underwriters of their option to purchase up to 1,621,621 shares of common stock. Total net proceeds to Deciphera were approximately $431.8 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses.
Third Quarter 2019 Financial Results
Cash Position: As of September 30, 2019, cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $634.6 million, compared to cash and cash equivalents of $293.8 million as of December 31, 2018. Deciphera expects its cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of September 30, 2019 will enable the Company to fund its operating expenses, capital expenditure requirements and debt service payments into 2022.
R&D Expenses: Research and development expenses for the third quarter of 2019 were $40.4 million, compared to $20.6 million for the same period in 2018. The increase was primarily due to the Company’s clinical trial costs related to the INTRIGUE pivotal Phase 3 study in second-line GIST. Personnel-related costs increased to $11.6 million primarily due to an increase in headcount and stock-based compensation expense in the research and development function. Personnel-related costs for the third quarters of 2019 and 2018 included non-cash, stock-based compensation expense of $2.0 million and $1.1 million, respectively. Facility-related and other costs included increased consultant fees of $0.4 million and increased costs incurred in connection with our early-stage drug discovery programs of $0.2 million.
G&A Expenses: General and administrative expenses for the third quarter of 2019 were $18.0 million, compared to $5.3 million for the same period in 2018. The increase was primarily due to increases in headcount and stock-based compensation expense in the Company’s general and administrative function. Non-cash, stock-based compensation was $2.7 million and $1.5 million for the third quarters of 2019 and 2018, respectively.
Net Loss: For the third quarter of 2019, Deciphera reported a net loss of $56.2 million, or $1.28 per share, compared with a net loss of $24.4 million, or $0.65 per share, for the same period in 2018.
Conference Call and Webcast
Deciphera will host a conference call and webcast to discuss this announcement today, November 4, 2019, at 4:30 PM ET. To access the live call by phone please dial (866) 930-5479 (domestic) or (409) 216-0603 (international); the conference ID is 1181263. A live audio webcast of the event may also be accessed through the "Investors" section of Deciphera’s website at www.deciphera.com. A replay of the webcast will be available for 30 days following the event.