Merck KGaA and Pfizer finalize Xalkori co-promotion accord

Germany’s Merck KGaA (MRK: DE) and US pharma giant Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) have finalized their co-promotion agreement allowing the companies to co-promote Pfizer’s anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitor Xalkori (crizotinib).

This agreement, they say, showcases the alliance’s commitment to establishing a combined oncology sales organization in key markets in advance of the potential launch of avelumab-based treatment regimens in the future.

Xalkori is the first ALK inhibitor approved in the USA, Japan and the European Union and is supported by two positive global randomized trials in the first- and second-line ALK-positive advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treatment settings. To date, globally more than 8,000 patients have been treated with Xalkori, including those who received the drug in clinical trials.