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news.ImClone Systems and Bristol-Myers Squibb have reported that a Phase III study of Erbitux in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy met its primary endpoint of increasing overall survival compared with chemotherapy alone in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.
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The randomized multinational study was conducted by Merck KGaA, and enrolled patients with stage IIIB or stage IV non-small cell lung cancer who had not previously received chemotherapy.
Eric Rowinsky, senior vice president of ImClone Systems, said: “Based on the first-line treatment for patients results, Erbitux is the only member of the class of epidermal growth factor inhibitors to demonstrate survival in the first-line treatment of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Previous pivotal trials involving other agents targeting epidermal growth factor inhibitor have failed to demonstrate a survival advantage for these patients.”
Martin Birkhofer, vice president, added: “Studies have shown that Erbitux improves overall survival for patients with certain head and neck cancers, and now, with the first-line treatment for patients data, for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.”
Erbitux (cetuximab) was discovered by ImClone Systems and is distributed in North America by ImClone and Bristol-Myers Squibb, while in the rest of the world distribution is by Merck KGaA.