Deciphera Pharmaceuticals Initiates a Phase 1 Clinical Trial of DCC-3014
DCC-3014 – A Highly-Selective Small Molecule CSF1R Immunokinase Inhibitor with Potent Macrophage Checkpoint Inhibition Activity
Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on addressing key mechanisms of tumor drug resistance, announced today that it has initiated a multi-center Phase 1 clinical trial of DCC-3014, a highly-selective small molecule CSF1R inhibitor, in patients with advanced malignancies.
“We are excited to initiate this first-in-human Phase 1 clinical trial of DCC-3014, our small molecule switch control inhibitor of CSF1R,” said Michael D. Taylor, Ph.D., Deciphera’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Preclinical data from a number of cancer models have demonstrated that DCC-3014 has potent macrophage checkpoint inhibitory activity. We believe DCC-3014 has great potential as a novel immunomodulatory agent and an important new therapy for cancer patients.”
The Phase 1 clinical trial is designed to evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of multiple ascending doses of DCC-3014. Up to 55 patients with advanced malignancies will be enrolled across both dose-escalation and expansion phases of the study. For more information about the clinical trial design please visit www.clinicaltrials.gov.
“DCC-3014 inhibits tumor associated macrophages which are believed to play a key role in the tumor microenvironment,” said Oliver Rosen, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Deciphera. “By blocking macrophage immune checkpoints, DCC-3014 has demonstrated additive or synergistic immunomodulatory activity in combination with PD-1 inhibition in multiple preclinical models.”
About DCC-3014
DCC-3014 was purposefully designed using the company’s proprietary Switch Control Inhibitor platform to be a highly-specific macrophage immunomodulatory agent. In preclinical models, DCC-3014 has demonstrated potent inhibition of the colony stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R), an important target for the treatment of many cancer indications. Deciphera reported preclinical data demonstrating potent macrophage checkpoint inhibition with DCC-3014 in multiple cancer models both as a single agent and in combination with a PD1 inhibitor at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting in April 2016. DCC-3014 is currently in Phase 1 clinical development in patients with advanced malignancies.
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. Drug candidates created using our “switch control” inhibitor platform are chemically distinct from other kinase inhibitors. These 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 response to treatment.
Contacts:
Christopher J. Morl, Chief Business Officer
Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, LLC
cmorl@deciphera.com
781-209-6418
Media:
Gina Nugent, The Yates Network
gina@theyatesnetwork.com
617-460-3579