AstraZeneca and ImClone boosted by new data on EGF receptor inhibitors

ImClone Systems of the USA and AstraZeneca have both presentedencouraging data at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in San Francisco, USA, on their respective anticancer drugs, cetuximab (IMC-C225) and Iressa (ZD1839), which target the epidermal growth factor receptor that is expressed on the surface of certain cancer cells. The two companies are in a head-to-head race to get their EGF inhibitors to market, with ImClone lifted earlier this year by the news that cetuximab would be fast-tracked in the USA (Marketletter February 12).

ImClone saw its share price rise 5.3% to $40.46 as investors responded to Phase II trial results for cetuximab, which showed that the monoclonal antibody had positive effects in patients with head and neck, pancreatic and colorectal cancer. The news was also a lift to Merck KGaA of Germany, which licenses rights to the drug outside North America.

In one study involving 120 refractory colorectal cancer patients who had already failed treatment with Pharmacia's Camptosar (irinotecan), which is fast becoming the first-line drug of choice for this type of tumor, the combination of cetuximab and irinotecan achieved a 22.6% partial response rate, while an additional 7.5% of patients exhibited a stabilization in their disease. ImClone noted that, on the basis of these Phase II results, it would move ahead with a Phase III trial of cetuximab in combination with several other chemotherapies, including irinotecan, as a first-line treatment for colorectal cancer.