Merck Initiates Phase III Gastric Cancer Study
Posted on: Wednesday, 9 July 2008, 09:00 CDT
Merck KGaA has announced that the first patient has been enrolled into its pivotal Phase III gastric cancer clinical study, Expand. Expand is a multi-center, open-label, controlled study that will recruit approximately 870 patients at 150 centers in 25 countries worldwide.
The study by the Merck Serono division will assess the clinical benefit of the targeted cancer therapy Erbitux (cetuximab) in combination with cisplatin and capecitabine as a first-line treatment for patients with advanced/metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma including gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma. The primary endpoint of the study is progression-free survival.
Erbitux is a monoclonal antibody already approved for the treatment of colorectal and head and neck cancers and is said to be the first targeted therapy to show a significant survival benefit in first-line non-small-cell lung cancer in patients across all histological subtypes.
Wolfgang Wein, executive vice president for Merck Serono's global oncology unit, said: "Combining standard chemotherapy regimens with innovative targeted agents such as Erbitux is key to providing more effective cancer treatments and underpins Merck Serono's commitment to oncology."
Source: Datamonitor
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