Genetic testing will decide who gets breakthrough cancer drug Erbitux in Australia

Merck KGaA's colorectal cancer drug is set to propel Australian health authorities headlong into a new era of personalized medicine, in which the results of genetic testing determine which patients have access to the therapy, reports the Sidney Herald Tribune.

The drug, Erbitux (cetuximab), has no chance of working in 40% of bowel cancer patients. Their tumors feature a gene mutation that prevents the molecule from blocking its target cancer growth pathway, the newspaper explains.

However, for the other 60% whose cancer has the ''wild type'' version of the KRAS gene it offers a decent if usually temporary chance of slowing the cancer. For some it can even shrink tumors enough to make them amenable to surgery - holding out a modest prospect of a cure.