On January 12, 2024 GENESIS Pharma, a leading regional biopharma company operating in Europe, and Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: DCPH), a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing important new medicines to improve the lives of people with cancer, reported an exclusive distribution agreement for RIPRETINIB in 14 European markets in Central and Eastern Europe (Press release, Genesis Pharma, JAN 12, 2024, View Source [SID1234639222]). Under the terms of the agreement, GENESIS Pharma will exclusively commercialize RIPRETINIB for the treatment of fourth-line gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) in: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
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RIPRETINIB is approved in the European Union for the treatment of adult patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST) who have received prior treatment with three or more kinase inhibitors, including imatinib.
Ms. Margarida Duarte, Senior Vice President, Head of International, Deciphera Pharmaceuticals stated: "We are excited to partner with GENESIS Pharma to distribute RIPRETINIB across Central and Eastern Europe, ensuring fourth-line GIST patients in these countries have access to this standard-of-care treatment. Deciphera is committed to commercializing RIPRETINIB globally, and our agreement with GENESIS Pharma builds upon the significant progress we have already made launching the therapy in Europe, positioning us well for continued growth as we work together to improve the lives of GIST patients".
Mr. Constantinos Evripides, Managing Director of GENESIS Pharma stated: "We are pleased to expand the network of our international partners and honored that Deciphera recognized our expertise and track record in the commercialization of innovative biopharmaceutical products targeting severe and rare diseases. This agreement is an important step forward in expanding our geographical reach and delivering our mission to ensure that such products are made available to patients in the countries we operate. We look forward to joining forces with Deciphera to enable access to this important innovative therapy for eligible patients in Central and Eastern Europe".
About Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST)
Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is a rare neoplasm of the gastrointestinal tract affecting the digestive tract or nearby structures within the abdomen, most often presenting in the stomach or small intestine. GIST is the most frequent sarcoma of the gastrointestinal tract, with a reported incidence of 10-15 cases per million per year. The majority of GISTs are driven by two oncogenic protein kinases, KIT and PDGFRA gain-of-function mutations. The most common primary mutations are in KIT kinase, representing approximately 80% of cases, or in PDGFRA kinase, representing approximately 5-10% of cases. Current therapies are unable to inhibit the full spectrum of primary and secondary mutations, which drives resistance to most tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) therefore leading to disease progression. Estimates for 5-year survival rate range from 48% to 90%, depending on the stage of the disease at diagnosis.