Erbitux development program featured in ASCO's Clinical Cancer Advances report for third consecutive year

Merck SeronoNov 23 2010

For the third year in a row, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has included Erbitux^® (cetuximab) research in its annual report, Clinical Cancer Advances, which features the most significant studies of 2010. The report cites as a notable advance this year the finding that BRAF mutation status is a prognostic, not predictive, marker for Erbitux efficacy in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). This finding is from the pooled analysis of the large, randomized CRYSTAL and OPUS clinical studies, which were supported by Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.

“We look forward to yet another year of advances in oncology.”

"This is the result of our focused work on biomarker-guided research to improve cancer care," said Dr. Oliver Kisker, Senior Vice-President, Global Clinical Development Unit for Oncology, Merck Serono. "We are honored to have our Erbitux clinical development program recognized in three different cancers in three successive years by the oncology community."

Previous Recognition

In 2009, Erbitux was included in the report as a major advance for the year that had the potential to lead to a reduction in mortality from cancer. Erbitux was recognized as an advance in personalized medicine and targeted therapies in head and neck cancer. The results from the randomized EXTREME trial presented during the ASCO 2009 meeting showed that Erbitux is the first treatment in more than 30 years to demonstrate an improvement in overall survival for advanced head and neck cancer patients.

In 2008, Erbitux was twice highlighted as a major advance in the treatment of both mCRC and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

• Erbitux was listed as the only significant advance in personalized medicine for 2008. The results of the CRYSTAL study validated KRAS mutation status as predictive of Erbitux efficacy in mCRC patients.
• In hard-to-treat cancers, Erbitux was listed as the only treatment to advance lung cancer care. Results from the randomized FLEX study showed that adding Erbitux to chemotherapy increased overall survival in patients with NSCLC that expressed the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR).

"We continue to believe that using biomarkers to convert therapies targeted at specific pathways into personalized medicines will lead to greater progress in improving cancer care for patients," said Dr. Kisker. "We look forward to yet another year of advances in oncology."