Erbitux Succeeds In One Trial, Disappoints In Another

   DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) said a late-phase trial of cancer drug Erbitux when combined with Folfiri extended median overall survival of metastatic colorectal cancer patients, compared to just the Pfizer Inc. (PFE) cancer therapy.

The results were presented Wednesday at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress in Berlin. The study was conducted by the Medical Research Council in the U.K. In a separate study, also released Wednesday, Erbitux combined with standard chemotherapy showed no overall improvement in survival rates among colon cancer patients.

The median survival of patients receiving the combination of Erbitux and Folfiri increased to 19.9 months compared with 18.6 months for Folfiri alone. In a subset of patients with wild-type K-ras tumors, the median survival rose to 23.5 months, compared with 20 months for those taking just Folfiri.

The data update results published in the April issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

ImClone Systems' Erbitux is commercialized by Bristol-Myers in the U.S. and Canada and Merck KGaA (G.MRK) of Germany elsewhere.

Bristol-Myers' shares were up 12 cents premarket at $22.39.

-By Tess Stynes, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2481; [e-mail]