Vectibix panitumumab regulatory update

The U.K.'s NICE issued a preliminary appraisal recommending against 3 second-line therapies for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). The products are Erbitux cetuximab from Merck KGaA (Xetra:MRK, Darmstadt, Germany); Avastin bevacizumab from Roche (SIX:ROG; OTCQX:RHHBY, Basel, Switzerland); and Vectibix panitumumab from Amgen. NICE said the estimated survival benefit for each drug was uncertain.

Erbitux, a chimeric IgG1 mAb targeting EGFR, is marketed to treat mCRC and squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) by ImClone Systems Inc., a subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE:LLY, Indianapolis, Ind.), and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE:BMY, New York, N.Y.) in North America. Merck markets the drug elsewhere, except in Japan where the 3 companies market the drug. Avastin is approved in the EU and U.S. for mCRC. Roche's Genentech Inc. unit markets the humanized mAb against VEGF in the U.S., while Roche markets it elsewhere. ...