First Launch Of Wellcome's Panorex

Wellcome and Centocor have announced that Panorex (17-1A), their monoclonal antibody for the adjuvant therapy of postoperative colorectal cancer, has been launched in its first market, Germany. Centocor will manufacture Panorex and Wellcome will distribute the product.

German marketing authorization for Panorex was applied for in July 1994 and approved in January of this year (Marketletter January 9). Wellcome is also planning to carry out additional studies of the antibody in Europe and the USA during 1995, and applications for approval in other countries will be made after completion of a further large-scale trial.

Panorex will be given in five doses, a month apart, starting immediately after surgery. The treatment is intended to destroy residual tumor cells and metastases left behind after surgery, and a five-year study reveals that this approach increases survival by 30% compared with surgery alone. A course of treatment is estimated at around L2,500 ($4,023).