Merck KGaA's Erbitux gets NICE OK in subset of HNC patients

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has recommended Merck KGaA's Erbitux (cetuximab) in combination with radiotherapy for locally-advanced squamous cell cancer of the head and neck if the patient has a Karnofsky performance-status score of 90% or more, and all forms of platinum-based chemotherapy are considered inappropriate.

The UK drug coverage authority stressed that health care professionals should not stop prescribing cetuximab in combination with radiotherapy for people who were already receiving it when the guidance was issued, but who do not fulfil the above criteria. These patients should be able to carry on taking cetuximab until they and their health care professionals decide that it is the right time to stop treatment.

Peter Littlejohns, NICE Executive Lead for the guidance, said that the agent "is both clinically and cost effective" in the defined patient population. In first-quarter 2008, the drug maintained its growth trend with sales jumping 33% year-on-year to 145.0 million euros ($224.4 million).