Merck Serono gains rights to Ph II cancer drug from Symphogen for up to 475 million euros

6 September 2012

Privately-held Danish drug developer Symphogen A/S announced this morning that it has signed an exclusive worldwide license agreement with Merck Serono, the pharma unit of Germany’s Merck KGaA (MRK: DE), for Sym004, an investigational antibody mixture targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR).

Sym004 is currently being evaluated in a Phase I/II trial for the treatment of patients with advanced KRAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) who have previously progressed on treatment with standard chemotherapy and a marketed anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody. In addition, a single-arm, open-label Phase II trial in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) who have failed anti-EGFR–based therapy is currently ongoing.

20 million-euro upfront payment

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