Deciphera Pharmaceuticals Announces Proposed Public Offering of Common Stock

On August 13, 2019 Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCPH), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on addressing key mechanisms of tumor drug resistance, reported the commencement of a registered underwritten public offering of $200.0 million in shares of its common stock (Press release, Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, AUG 13, 2019, View Source [SID1234538656]). In addition, Deciphera intends to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to $30.0 million in shares of its common stock.

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J.P. Morgan, Piper Jaffray and Jefferies are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering.

Deciphera intends to use the net proceeds of the offering to fund: clinical trials for ripretinib, including the expansion stage of its current Phase 1 clinical trial, its ongoing pivotal Phase 3 clinical trials, and additional clinical trials, as well as clinical research outsourcing and manufacturing of clinical trial material, and pre-commercialization manufacturing process development and validation; clinical trials for DCC-3014, including the expansion stage of its current Phase 1 clinical trial, as well as clinical research outsourcing and manufacturing of clinical trial material; clinical trials for rebastinib, including its current Phase 1b/2 clinical trial, as well as clinical research outsourcing and manufacturing of clinical trial material; Investigational New Drug-enabling studies and the potential development of DCC-3116; new and ongoing research activities for future drug candidates using its proprietary kinase switch control inhibitor platform; continued growth of its commercial and medical affairs capabilities to support its transition from a development-stage company toward a commercial-stage company; and working capital purposes, including general operating expenses.

A shelf registration statement relating to the shares of common stock offered in the public offering described above was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and was declared effective by the SEC on October 12, 2018. The securities may be offered only by means of a written prospectus, including a prospectus supplement, forming a part of the effective registration statement. A preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to the offering will be filed with the SEC and will be available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. When available, copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the offering may also be obtained from J.P. Morgan Securities LLC c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, or by telephone at (866) 803-9204, or by email at [email protected]; Piper Jaffray & Co., 800 Nicollet Mall, J12S03, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55402, Attention: Prospectus Department, by telephone at (800) 747-3924 or by email at [email protected]; and Jefferies LLC, Attention: Equity Syndicate Prospectus Department, 520 Madison Avenue, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10022, by telephone at (877) 821-7388 or by email at [email protected].

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

KIYATEC Announces Addition of Capital Health as Clinical Site in Trial to Predict GBM Patient-Specific Response to Cancer Drugs Prior to Treatment

On August 13, 2019 KIYATEC, Inc. reported that Capital Health has joined its U.S. clinical trial, 3D-PREDICT, to validate the company’s test as a patient-specific predictor of response to cancer therapies in glioblastoma (GBM) and anaplastic astrocytoma (AA) patients (Press release, KIYATEC, AUG 13, 2019, View Source [SID1234538655]). Capital Health is currently the only healthcare system in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the New York City region enrolling GBM patients in the study.

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"Capital Health is committed to improving the health and well-being of our patients, while making the care we provide as personalized as possible. Taking part in this clinical trial underscores our mission to provide the best care, for each individual patient, at the earliest possible time," said Dr. Navid Redjal, director of Neurosurgical Oncology at Capital Health, and lead investigator of the study. "In oncology treatment, and especially for our patients with glioblastoma, being able to predict if a treatment will be successful has the potential to truly change patient care, particularly when time is of the essence."

3D-PREDICT is a prospective, open-label, multi-institutional, non-interventional study to validate KIYATEC’s EV3D platform for clinical use and to investigate the impact on outcomes for cancer patients with both newly diagnosed and recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer and recurrent high-grade gliomas. KIYATEC’s EV3D cell culture platform utilizes live cancer cells derived from surgical or biopsy tissue to create a patient specific in vivo-like tumor and immune microenvironment. The tumor and immune microenvironment are used to accurately model and assess responses from both investigational and approved cancer therapies. The study is anticipated to continue through 2020. Details on the trial can be found on View Source

"The continued growth of patient enrollment with the addition of Capital Health is a true testament to the value that oncology clinical teams realize in being able to better determine a viable treatment path for their patients at the earliest possible time," said Matthew Gevaert, CEO of KIYATEC. "We are realizing tremendous momentum, both with our ongoing clinical trial as well as recent publication of the positive results of our ovarian cancer study in the Nature journal Scientific Reports. This is a truly exciting time in the company’s growth as we continue on our path to provide a more personalized cancer treatment experience for patients."

Genprex Demonstrates Growth and Expansion Through Recent Achievements

On August 13, 2019 Genprex, Inc. (NASDAQ: GNPX), a clinical-stage gene therapy company, reported recent achievements the company has completed as a part of the company’s overall strategy to expand its clinical development programs and bring its lead drug candidate, Oncoprex immunogene therapy, to commercialization (Press release, Genprex, AUG 13, 2019, View Source [SID1234538654]).

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These recent achievements are outlined in the company’s newly launched, interactive corporate timeline, which can be found on Genprex’s website.

"Since Genprex’s IPO last year, we have made significant progress in many areas of the company, including progress toward expansion of our clinical programs and sponsored research, our manufacturing process development and scalability, and the growth of our team to support these initatives," said Rodney Varner, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Genprex. "These accomplishments have set the stage for us to continue on our path of growth and expansion, enabling our efforts to bring our drug candidate to market for lung cancer patients who cannot benefit from today’s therapies."

Genprex’s updates to ongoing activities, include:

Q2 2019

Announced positive pre-clinical findings from MD Anderson Cancer Center Sponsored Research Agreement studying the effects of TUSC2 with pembrolizumab at American Association of Cancer Research meeting
Developed Oncoprex and immunotherapy combination clinical trial design
Collaborated with Addison Whitney for drug nomenclature branding program and submission of non-proprietary drug name selections
Initiated manufacturing process development with key manufacturing partners to support clinical expansion and manufacturing scale-up processes
Completed manufacturing of TUSC2 DNA plasmid to support clinical trial ramp-up
Q1 2019

Appointed Key Staff: Senior Director of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Manufacturing and Senior Manager of Communications and Marketing
USPTO issued two additional patents to add to our intellectual property portfolio
Identified potential new clinical sites for expansion of Oncoprex and erlotinib combination clinical trial
Q4 2018

Appointed Key Staff: VP of Clinical Operations
Completion of clinical data reconciliation within a CDISC/SDTM-compliant database
Q3 2018

Initiated clinical site selection and expansion program with CRO partner
Initialization of sponsored pre-clinical research with MD Anderson Cancer Center to evaluate TUSC2 with immunotherapies including immune checkpoint inhibitors anti-PD1 and CTLA-4
Q2 2018

Continued execution and enhancement of strategy for manufacturing technology transfer and scale-up initiatives
Genprex’s new interactive timeline on its website shares additional historical achievements, where visitors can follow the company’s success since its inception.

Janssen Announces European Commission Approval of Imbruvica®▼(ibrutinib) for Expanded Use in Two Indications

On August 13, 2019 The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson reported that the European Commission (EC) has approved variations to broaden the use of Imbruvica (ibrutinib) in two indications (Press release, Johnson & Johnson, AUG 13, 2019, View Source [SID1234538653]). This includes the use of ibrutinib in combination with obinutuzumab in adult patients with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and the use of ibrutinib plus rituximab for the treatment of adult patients with Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia (WM). The approval follows the Positive Opinion from the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) on 28 June 2019.

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"The data supporting both the CLL and WM approvals show significant improvements in progression free survival with the use of ibrutinib-based therapy versus the standard of care study comparators respectively," said Dr Alessandra Tedeschi, Medical Director, Department of Hematology, Niguarda Hospital, Milan, Italy, and investigator in both the iNNOVATE and iLLUMINATE studies. "These approvals therefore provide healthcare professionals with new chemotherapy-free options for patients with these complex blood cancers."

The approval in CLL was based on results from the Phase 3 iLLUMINATE (PCYC-1130) study, published in The Lancet Oncology, which investigated ibrutinib in combination with obinutuzumab versus chlorambucil plus obinutuzumab in patients with previously untreated CLL.1

In WM, the decision was based on data from the Phase 3 iNNOVATE (PCYC-1127) study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine.2 The study evaluated the efficacy and safety of ibrutinib in combination with rituximab, versus rituximab with placebo, in patients with previously untreated and relapsed/refractory WM.3

Additional information about both studies can be found at www.ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02264574 and NCT02165397).4,5

"With five European Commission approvals in five years, this latest EC decision further extends the potential reach and impact ibrutinib can have for patients," said Craig Tendler, M.D., Vice President, Clinical Development and Global Medical Affairs, Oncology, Janssen Research & Development, LLC. "We remain committed to a comprehensive clinical development programme for ibrutinib, including exploring its use in other combinations, to address the needs of more and more patients with B-cell malignancies."

Ibrutinib, a first-in-class Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor, is jointly developed and commercialised by Janssen Biotech, Inc., and Pharmacyclics LLC, an AbbVie company.

Dr Alessandra Tedeschi is co-investigator in both the iNNOVATE and iLLUMINATE studies. She was not compensated for any media work.

#ENDS#

About ibrutinib
Ibrutinib is a first-in-class Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor, which works by forming a strong covalent bond with BTK to block the transmission of cell survival signals within the malignant B-cells.6 By blocking this BTK protein, ibrutinib decreases survival and migration of B lymphocytes, thereby delaying progression of the cancer.7

Ibrutinib is currently approved in Europe for:8

Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL): As a single agent or in combination with obinutuzumab for the treatment of adult patients with previously untreated CLL, and as a single agent or in combination with bendamustine and rituximab (BR) for the treatment of adult patients with CLL who have received at least one prior therapy
Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL): As a single agent for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory MCL
Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia (WM): As a single agent for the treatment of adult patients who have received at least one prior therapy or in first-line treatment for patients unsuitable for chemo-immunotherapy, and in combination with rituximab for the treatment of adult patients
Ibrutinib is approved in more than 95 countries, and, to date, has been used to treat more than 158,000 patients worldwide across its approved indications.

The most common adverse reactions seen with ibrutinib include diarrhoea, neutropenia, haemorrhage (e.g., bruising), musculoskeletal pain, nausea, rash, and pyrexia.8

For a full list of side effects and information on dosage and administration, contraindications and other precautions when using ibrutinib please refer to the Summary of Product Characteristics for further information.

About chronic lymphocytic leukaemia
Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) is typically a slow-growing blood cancer of the white blood cells.9 The overall incidence of CLL in Europe is approximately 4.92 cases per 100,000 persons per year and is about 1.5 times more common in men than in women.10 CLL is predominantly a disease of the elderly, with a median age of 72 years at diagnosis.11

The disease eventually progresses in the majority of patients, and they are faced with fewer treatment options with each relapse. Patients are often prescribed multiple lines of therapy as they relapse or become resistant to treatments.

About Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia
Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia (WM) is a rare form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL).12 It causes overproduction of a protein called monoclonal immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibody, which causes a thickening of the blood.13 Incidence rates among men and women in Europe are approximately 7.3 and 4.2 per million persons, respectively.14 The causes of WM are unknown, with it typically affecting older adults and being slightly more common in men than women.12,14

Deciphera Pharmaceuticals Reports Positive Updated Phase 1 Data for Ripretinib in Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors

On August 13, 2019 Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCPH), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on addressing key mechanisms of tumor drug resistance, reported updated data from its ongoing Phase 1 clinical study of ripretinib, a broad-spectrum KIT and PDGFRα inhibitor, in patients with second-line through fourth-line plus gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) (Press release, Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, AUG 13, 2019, View Source [SID1234538652]).

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In a separate press release issued today, Deciphera announced positive top-line results from its INVICTUS pivotal Phase 3 clinical study supporting a potential new drug application (NDA) submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for ripretinib for the treatment of patients with advanced GIST who have received prior treatment with imatinib, sunitinib and regorafenib. In addition to the INVICTUS data, Deciphera will also be submitting in its NDA supportive data from the ongoing Phase 1 clinical study, which will include the updated data from GIST patients at doses of >100mg of ripretinib. Additional results from the Phase 1 clinical study in these patients are expected to be presented at an upcoming medical meeting.

"We believe the updated data from our ongoing Phase 1 clinical study, with the additional six months of maturity from our last Phase 1 data cut-off, continue to support ripretinib’s potential across the broad range of KIT and PDGFRα mutations known to occur in patients with GIST following therapy with imatinib," said Steve Hoerter, President and Chief Executive Officer of Deciphera. "In the updated data from the second-line cohort, we believe ripretinib has demonstrated encouraging clinical benefit based on the objective response rate, disease control rate and median progression free survival rates observed. These results strengthen our confidence in the INTRIGUE pivotal Phase 3 clinical study comparing ripretinib to sunitinib, the standard of care for patients receiving second-line treatment for GIST."

Updated Phase 1 Data

Updated data from 178 GIST patients receiving ripretinib at doses of >100mg daily are noted in the table below as of March 1, 2019. The table includes investigator-assessed objective response rate (ORR) by best response, disease control rate (DCR) and median progression free survival (mPFS), all of which were determined by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) version 1.1.

Line of Therapy(1)

Objective Response Rate by Best Response

Includes Unconfirmed

(Confirmed Only)

Disease Control Rate

at 3 Months

Median Progression Free Survival (mPFS)

Censored Patients for mPFS

Mean Treatment Duration(2)(3)

Second-Line (n=37)

30% (22%)

81%

42 weeks

38%

43 weeks

Third-Line (n=31)

23% (13%)

80%

40 weeks

32%

48 weeks

Fourth-Line (n=60)

15% (8%)

73%

30 weeks

30%

49 weeks

≥Fourth-Line (n=110)(4)

11% (7%)

66%

24 weeks

22%

41 weeks

(1) Overall number of patients (n=178) remains the same as prior data presented at ESMO (Free ESMO Whitepaper) 2018; based on additional data cleaning, one patient from each of 2nd line and 4th/≥4th line were reclassified as 3rd line patients; (2) Median treatment durations were: 2nd line = 44 weeks, 3rd line = 48 weeks, 4th line = 46 weeks and ≥4th line = 29 weeks; (3) Includes 60 patients who elected for intra-patient dose escalation from 150 mg QD to 150 mg BID; (4) Number of patients includes 60 patients from 4th line.

Ripretinib was generally well tolerated and the updated adverse events were consistent with previously presented Phase 1 data in patients with GIST. Grade 3 or 4 treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) in >5% of patients were lipase increased (18%; n=33), anemia (11%; n=20), hypertension (7%; n=13) and abdominal pain (6%; n=11). 13% of patients (n=24) experienced TEAEs leading to study treatment discontinuation, 17% of patients (n=31) experienced TEAEs leading to dose reduction and 49% of patients (n=88) had TEAEs leading to study drug interruption.

Conference Call and Webcast

Deciphera will host a conference call and webcast to discuss this announcement, as well as results from the INVICTUS Phase 3 clinical study, today, August 13, 2019 at 8:00 AM ET. To access the live call by phone please dial 866-930-5479 (domestic) or 409-216-0603 (international); the conference ID is 8859018. A live audio webcast of the event and accompanying slides 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.

About GIST

Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is a cancer affecting the digestive tract or nearby structures within the abdomen, most often presenting in the stomach or small intestine. GIST is the most common sarcoma of the gastrointestinal tract, with approximately 4,000 to 6,000 new GIST cases each year in the United States and a similar incidence rate in European and other countries. Most cases of GIST are driven by a spectrum of mutations. The most common primary mutations are in KIT kinase, representing approximately 75% to 80% of cases, or in PDGFRα kinase, representing approximately 5% to 10% of cases. Current therapies are unable to inhibit the full spectrum of primary and secondary mutations, which drives resistance and disease progression. Estimates for 5-year survival range from 48% to 90%, depending on the stage of the disease at diagnosis.

About Ripretinib

Ripretinib 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 patients with GIST by inhibiting a broad spectrum of mutations in KIT and PDGFRα. Ripretinib is a KIT and PDGFRα inhibitor that inhibits 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. In June 2019, the U.S. FDA granted Fast Track Designation to ripretinib for the treatment of patients with advanced GIST who have received prior treatment with imatinib, sunitinib and regorafenib.

Deciphera Pharmaceuticals has an exclusive license agreement with Zai Lab (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. for the development and commercialization of ripretinib in Greater China (Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan). Deciphera Pharmaceuticals retains development and commercial rights for ripretinib in the rest of the world.

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 provide evidence of clinical benefit 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).