WALTHAM, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCPH), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on addressing key mechanisms of tumor drug resistance, today announced the appointment of Susan L. Kelley, M.D. to its Board of Directors. Dr. Kelley will serve as an independent director and member of the Compensation Committee.
“It is a pleasure to welcome Susan to the Board of Directors at such an exciting time for Deciphera,” said Steve Hoerter, President and Chief Executive Officer of Deciphera. “I look forward to leveraging her vast experience across the spectrum of oncology drug development as we continue to advance the ripretinib program and the rest of our pipeline, including DCC-3014, rebastinib and our recently announced potential first-in-class ULK kinase inhibitor, DCC-3116.”
“With its first Phase 3 data readout on the horizon, the coming months will be an important time for Deciphera,” said Dr. Kelley. “I look forward to collaborating with the highly accomplished Board and management team to realize the full potential of its pipeline derived through its novel switch control inhibitor platform.”
Dr. Kelley brings to Deciphera over 25 years of experience across all stages of oncology drug research and development. Most recently she served as Chief Medical Officer of the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC) where she led the strategic design and management of clinical trials conducted by leading myeloma clinical research centers in North America. Prior to the MMRC, she held positions of increasing responsibility at Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals and Bayer-Schering Pharma, including Vice President, Global Clinical Development and Therapeutic Area Head – Oncology, where she led the team responsible for the development and worldwide regulatory approval of Nexavar® (sorafenib). Prior to joining Bayer, Dr. Kelley worked at Bristol-Myers Squibb in Oncology and Immunology drug development, ultimately serving as Executive Director, Oncology Clinical Research, at the Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute. She currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors at multiple publicly traded companies including VBL Therapeutics, Daré Bioscience, Inc., and ArQule, Inc. Dr. Kelley received her M.D. from Duke University School of Medicine. She was a Fellow in Medical Oncology and Clinical Fellow in Medicine at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, and a Fellow in Medical Oncology and Pharmacology at Yale University School of Medicine, where she also served as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine.
About Deciphera Pharmaceuticals
Deciphera Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: DCPH) 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. These investigational 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 responses to treatment.
Availability of Other Information About Deciphera Pharmaceuticals
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Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, including, without limitation, statements regarding our expectations regarding timing of reporting top-line data from our INVICTUS pivotal Phase 3 study, the potential for ripretinib (DCC-2618) and our other drug candidates (DCC-3116, rebastinib and DCC-3014) based on our kinase switch control inhibitor platform to provide clinical benefit and treat cancers such as GIST and other possible indications, preparations for a possible NDA, pending positive study results, and commercial launch of ripretinib in fourth-line and fourth-line plus GIST, if approved. The words “may,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,” “potential,” “continue,” “target” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and important factors that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements contained in this press release, including, without limitation, risks and uncertainties related to the delay of any current or planned clinical studies or the development of our drug candidates, including ripretinib, rebastinib, , DCC-3014 and DCC-3116, our advancement of multiple early-stage and later-stage efforts, our ability to successfully demonstrate the efficacy and safety of our drug candidates including in later-stage studies, the preclinical and clinical results for our drug candidates, which may not support further development of such drug candidates, our efforts to scale up and manage drug product manufacturing, our ability to implement commercial readiness, actions of regulatory agencies, any or all of which may affect the initiation, timing and progress of clinical studies and other risks identified in our SEC filings, including our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2019, and subsequent filings with the SEC. We caution you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. We disclaim any obligation to publicly update or revise any such statements to reflect any change in expectations or in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements may be based, or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release represent our views only as of the date hereof and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date. We explicitly disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
Contacts
Investor Relations:
Jen Robinson
Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
jrobinson@deciphera.com
781-906-1112
Media:
Gina Nugent, The Yates Network
gina@theyatesnetwork.com
617-460-3579