Merck reports data for Erbitux vs. Avastin in colorectal cancer

Merck KGaA (Xetra:MRK) said first-line treatment with Erbitux cetuximab plus FOLFIRI chemotherapy missed the primary endpoint of significantly improving objective response rate (ORR) ORR vs. Avastin bevacizumab plus FOLFIRI chemotherapy (62% vs. 58%, p=0.183) in the Phase III FIRE-3 trial to treat colorectal cancer. On secondary endpoints, median progression-free survival (PFS) was similar between the Erbitux and Avastin arms (10 vs. 10.3 months), but median overall survival (OS) was significantly improved in the Erbitux vs. Avastin arm (28.7 vs. 25 months, p=0.017). The University of Munich sponsored the open-label trial, which enrolled 592 patients with wild-type K-Ras (KRAS) colorectal cancer. Data were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago. ...