Merck Serono's Erbitux to be funded by CDF in England for mCRC

The UK’s Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) says that Erbitux (cetuximab) can be used in the first line setting in combination with oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy FOLFOX4, FOLFOX6 or OxMdG for patients with EGFR-expressing, RAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) in England.

The decision means that Erbitux, marketed by German drugmaker Merck Serono, a subsidiary of Merck KGaA (MRK: DE), is now funded in combination with oxaliplatin first line by the CDF in addition to its use in combination with irinotecan-based chemotherapy, or as a single agent in patients who have failed oxaliplatin- and irinotecan-based therapy and who are intolerant to irinotecan.

Mark Saunders, Consultant Oncologist, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Cetuximab is a personalized medicine, which is approved for patients with the RAS wild-type gene in their tumors. Testing for RAS status is important in enabling doctors to identify the effective treatment option for patients and also to avoid patients from potentially receiving a treatment that might not work as well for them. This new funding for cetuximab, in combination with FOLFOX, means that patients, being treated in the first line setting, now have more options available to them.”