Former Agios Executive to Take Over Deciphera After CEO Steps Down

After five years at the reins, Mike Taylor will step down from his role as president and chief executive officer of Waltham, Mass.-based Deciphera Pharmaceuticals. Taylor’s last day in the role will by March 18, the company announced late Monday. Steve Hoerter, the chief commercial officer of Agios Pharmaceuticals, will take over the top spot of Deciphera. Hoerter has been serving as a member of the company’s board of directors. Taylor will assist Hoerter through the transition for a period of about six months, the company said in its announcement. Taylor took over the helm of Deciphera in 2014. During his five years as president and CEO, he has guided the company’s oncology pipeline to have to Phase III candidates that could become approved products. In the fall of 2018, Deciphera completed enrollment of the Phase III INVICTUS study f DCC-2618, a broad-spectrum KIT, and PDGFRα inhibitor, in fourth-line and fourth-line-plus gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) patients. At the time of the announcement in November, Taylor said the company anticipates the report of top-line data by the middle of 2019. If the results are successful, he said that would support filing a New Drug Application for full approval in fourth-line and fourth-line-plus GIST patients.