Merck KGaA seeks to expand Erbitux in mCRC

Merck KGaA has submitted an application to the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) to broaden the use of its targeted cancer therapy, Erbitux (cetuximab), to include first-line therapy for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer.

The submission is supported in part by data presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in June from the CRYSTAL trial, a randomized, controlled evaluation of almost 1,200 patients, which demonstrated the efficacy of Erbitux as a first-line treatment in mCRC patients, noted the German drugmaker According to the firm, the study showed that, when added to current standard irinotecan based chemotherapy in first-line, Erbitux significantly increased progression-free survival, response and resection rates, which means that, as well as improving efficacy of first-line chemotherapy, the drug is the only targeted therapy to increase the chance of cure through resection.