BOSTON APR 10, 2007 (Reuters) - ImClone Systems Inc. said on Tuesday that a late-stage trial of Erbitux (cetuximab) failed to extend survival in patients with pancreatic cancer.
Erbitux is already approved to treat colorectal cancer and head and neck cancer.
The 700-patient trial compared Erbitux in combination with gemcitabine to gemcitabine alone in patients with pancreatic cancer that could not be surgically treated or had metastasized.
“While we are disappointed with these results we still believe Erbitux holds promise in pancreatic cancer,” Alex Denner, chairman of ImClone’s executive committee, said in an interview. ImClone plans to test Erbitux in combination with Avastin either with or without gemcitabine.
ImClone is also testing the drug in other cancer types, including lung cancer, and expects to have data from a late-stage lung cancer trial around the end of the year.
“Generally people have low expectations for that trial,” Denner said, “But if it turns out to be positive it could be a huge market for Erbitux.”
