Top Medical Oncologists Join Deciphera Pharmaceuticals Scientific Advisory Board

Experienced Clinical and Research Oncologists from Leading Oncology Institutions

Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing advanced kinase inhibitor treatments targeting the tumor cell and the tumor microenvironment, announced today that three new members have joined its Scientific Advisory Board, which serves as a strategic resource to Deciphera as it develops its switch-pocket inhibitors for the treatment of cancers.

• The new members of the Scientific Advisory Board are:

   

• Jean-Yves Blay, MD, General Director of the Centre Léon Bérard, in Lyon, France;
• F. Stephen Hodi, MD, Director of the Melanoma Center and the Center for Immuno-Oncology at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School; and
• Filip Janku, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics (Phase 1 Program) at MD Anderson Cancer Center.

“We are excited to welcome these world-leading experts to Deciphera’s Scientific Advisory Board who will be joining three other researchers and clinical experts in the field of cancer research. As a group they will help to guide Deciphera’s research and development activities as we continue to accelerate our exciting pipeline of advanced kinase inhibitor drug candidates,” said Oliver Rosen, MD, Deciphera’s Chief Medical Officer.

Dr. Jean-Yves Blay Biography
Jean-Yves Blay, MD is a medical oncologist, researcher, and professor. He currently holds the position of General Director of the Centre Léon Bérard, in Lyon, France, and additionally maintains active roles at this institution including Professor of Medical Oncology at the Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Head of the Integrated Research Site of Lyon (LYric) of the French National Cancer Institute, Director of the Network of Reference Centers for Sarcomas in France, Chairman of the French Sarcoma Group, and Director of the Institute for Clinical Science. Dr. Blay’s research focuses on sarcomas, targeted treatment of cancer, the biology of breast carcinoma and the relationship between tumor immunologic microenvironment and malignant cells with the goal of clinical applications. He is a member of the European Union Committee of Experts of Rare Diseases (EUCERD) and the European Commission’s Scientific Panel for Health (SPH) and is Faculty Coordinator of the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO). Dr. Blay has also served as President of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) from 2009-2012.

Dr. F. Stephen Hodi Biography
F. Stephen Hodi, MD is the Director of the Melanoma Center and the Center for Immuno-Oncology at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. His research focuses on gene therapy, the development of immune therapies, and first into human studies for malignant melanoma. Dr. Hodi is a member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Melanoma Committee, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer, the American Association for Cancer Research and a founding member of the Society for Melanoma Research. Dr. Hodi received his MD degree from Cornell University Medical College. He competed his postdoctoral training in Internal Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and Medical Oncology training at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Dr. Filip Janku Biography
Filip Janku, MD, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics (Phase I Program) at MD Anderson Cancer Center. His research focuses on proof-of-concept clinical trials that possess a pivotal correlative component especially those involving liquid biopsies, molecular profiling of cell-free DNA, the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway and therapeutic use of oncolytic bacteria. Dr. Janku received multiple awards for his research efforts, including Sidney Kimmel Scholar award, several ASCO Merit Awards as well as an American Association for Cancer Research Scholar-in-Training Award. He obtained his MD and PhD at the Charles University Prague.

About Deciphera Pharmaceuticals
Deciphera Pharmaceuticals seeks to improve treatment for patients with cancer by designing kinase inhibitor therapies that target the hallmarks of cancer biology. We specifically design our small molecule compounds to simultaneously block multiple cancer signaling mechanisms in the tumor cell and the tumor microenvironment to prevent growth and spread. Deciphera’s unique approach represents an important advance over current therapies in the durability of kinase inhibition and resiliency to genetic mutations to provide greater benefit across a range of cancers. Deciphera’s business strategy is to advance its drug candidates for genetically defined cancers and cancers that target the tumor microenvironment through both proprietary and partnered programs.

Deciphera’s internal product pipeline includes altiratinib, a MET/TIE2/TRK/VEGFR2 kinase inhibitor currently in Phase 1 clinical development, a pan-KIT inhibitor (DCC-2618) currently in preclinical development and rebastinib, a TIE2 kinase inhibitor currently in Phase 1 clinical development. Our ultra-specific FMS inhibitor (DCC-3014), which blocks the actions of pro-tumoral macrophages in the tumor microenvironment, is currently in preclinical development. In addition, a pan-RAF inhibitor is currently in Phase 1 development with Lilly.

Contacts:
Michael D. Taylor, PhD, Deciphera Pharmaceuticals
mtaylor@deciphera.com
781-209-6411

Media:
Gina Nugent, The Yates Network
gina@theyatesnetwork.com