-=Deciphera Pharmaceuticals (DCPH) : results of Phase 3 stomach cancer drug

Deciphera Pharmaceuticals (DCPH) stock nearly doubled Tuesday after the biotech company said its stomach cancer treatment benefited patients who've exhausted other options.

The biotech company is studying a drug called ripretinib in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors, or GIST. These patients have already worsened while undergoing at least three previous therapies — meaning they have few other options for treatment.

In the Phase 3 study, ripretinib significantly improved the amount of time patients lived with stomach cancer before worsening. Based on the data, the biotech company plans to ask the Food and Drug Administration to approve ripretinib in the first quarter of 2020.

Deciphera stock soared 80%, to 35.90, in massive volume. Shares touched their highest point since July 2018. The news sent shares of rival biotech company Blueprint Medicines (BPMC) down 3.8%, to 85.76.

Promising Stomach Cancer Treatment Results
Deciphera's drug is a precision medicine therapy. Ripretinib aims to block mutated genes that drive GIST. Currently approved drugs can't inhibit the full spectrum of primary and secondary mutations. This means the cancer can resist treatment and worsen over time.

But in the Phase 3 study, ripretinib extended the amount of time patients lived with their stomach cancer but didn't progress to a median 6.3 months. That was better than a one-month improvement in patients who received a placebo.

Ripretinib significantly reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 85% compared to the placebo, Deciphera said in a news release.

Objectively, 9.4% of patients responded to Deciphera's stomach cancer treatment vs. none of the placebo patients. That result wasn't statistically significant. The drug was also well tolerated and side effects were consistent with earlier tests.