Deciphera Pharmaceuticals is halting work on two projects, focusing its research on the other two projects, and laying off 35% of its staff within one year Corporate RestructuringThe move announced on Tuesday was announced a few weeks after lower-than-expected clinical trial data that hoped to support the expansion of its only commercial product, which eclipsed the drug’s prospects for becoming a best-selling product.
The commercial anticancer drug Qinlock will still be supported by Deciphera in Waltham, Massachusetts. However, the company will streamline its US sales force and focus on the commercialization of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) treatments in specific European markets.
Deciphera’s drugs belong to a class of drugs called kinase inhibitors. The company’s technology designs compounds that interact with kinase domains that regulate the switch function of the enzyme, turning it on or off.Last year, Qinlock became the first Deciphera switch controlled drug to win FDA approved, A decision to cover GIST patients whose disease did not respond to the three earlier treatment lines. European approval Qinlock last week also included the use of the drug as a fourth-line treatment.
Deciphera has been seeking to expand Qinlock’s approval in the United States to allow it to be used as a second-line treatment, which will open up a larger market. The biotech company conducted a third phase of research to generate data that can support expansion. On November 5, Deciphera reported preliminary result This shows that Qinlock did not achieve the main goal of surpassing sunitinib’s standard of care therapy, which is to help patients extend their lives without making cancer worse.
On Tuesday, Deciphera said it would stop further clinical development of Qinlock. The company also stopped research on rebastinib, which was originally scheduled to enter a phase 3 trial for ovarian cancer next year. The company said its current focus is on developing drugs that may become the first or best drugs in its therapeutic category. To this end, the company invested its research resources into two early projects, vimseltinib and DCC-3116.
Vimseltinib, a drug designed to block the kinase CSF1R, is expected to start a phase 3 study by the end of this year. Deciphera is developing this drug as a treatment Giant cell tumor of tendon sheath, A group of rare benign tumors affecting joint tissues. Surgery is the main treatment option, but these tumors may recur. At the same time, DCC-3116 is designed to block a kinase called ULK. Deciphera is developing this drug to treat cancer, in which autophagy (the process of processing damaged cell components) is upregulated, which the company says is believed to play an important role in tumor growth and survival. Deciphera said that the phase 1/2 study of DCC-3116 is expected to evaluate the drug’s ability to inhibit cancer autophagy.
In the nine months ended September 30, Deciphera reported that Qinlock’s revenue was $59.9 million. The financial report for the third quarter showed a cash position of US$392 million. The company said that through the reorganization, its cash should be sufficient to maintain it until 2024. The reorganization will lay off approximately 140 employees, including those involved in the commercialization, R&D, and other departments of the company. According to a report, Deciphera will collect a one-time cash fee of US$32 million in this quarter, including US$10 million in employee-related termination fees and US$22 million in contract termination fees and other financial related to the terminated drug plan. promise. Regulatory filing.
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