Disappointing results from a new study testing Eli Lilly and Merck KGaA’s Erbitux (cetuximab) have been announced, revealing that it failed to show any signs of being able to slow tumours in patients suffering from early, non-invasive colon cancer.

Erbitux is already approved for the treatment of advanced colon cancer, but the companies are looking to expand its role to treating earlier stage disease that has not yet spread. Traditionally, the drug is used to treat patients with colon cancer after other chemotherapy drugs fail and it is also approved to treat advanced head and neck cancer. However, these latest results, announced at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting, will do little to support a case for expanding its use earlier.

Despite achieving sales of around $1.4bn last year, Erbitux has largely failed to live up to the significant expectations heaped on it by industry analysts when it first emerged.

Ref: Bloomberg
http://www.bloomberg...amp;sid=aWHSoFMfUZ4s

Ref: The Wall Street Journal (registration required)
http://online.wsj.co...=WSJ_latestheadlines

Will it ever see an earlier role?