Deciphera's late-stage study meets main goal of preventing cancer progression

[August 13, 2019]  (Reuters) - Deciphera Pharmaceuticals Inc said on Tuesday its late-stage study met the main goal of preventing cancer from progressing in patients with a form of stomach cancer.

The study tested the treatment, ripretinib, against placebo in 129 patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST).

Deciphera said ripretinib demonstrated a median progression-free survival rate of 6.3 months compared with 1 month in case of placebo, adding that the drug significantly reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 85%.

The company said it expects to submit a marketing application for ripretinib to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the first quarter of 2020.

The treatment was granted 'Fast Track' status in June to treat patients with advanced GIST who have received certain prior treatment.

The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 11,000 people will die from stomach cancer in the United States in 2019.

(Reporting by Aakash Jagadeesh Babu in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)

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