OREANDA-NEWS. Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced that new research from their marketed and pipeline compounds will be presented at this year’s European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO; October 7–11, 2016, Copenhagen, Denmark) annual meeting. Presentations will focus on hard-to-treat cancers, and include: study results for Erbitux® (cetuximab) in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) and squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN); preliminary study results in bladder cancer and renal cell carcinoma (RCC) for avelumab, which is being developed in collaboration with Pfizer; and updates on the Phase II program for tepotinib* in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

“The data being presented at ESMO reflect our commitment to making a meaningful difference in patients’ lives, in particular those who are affected by hard-to-treat cancers,” said Luciano Rossetti, Executive Vice President, Head of Global Research & Development at the biopharma business of Merck. “We continue to focus on researching the full potential of Erbitux, as well as our ongoing pipeline development programs for avelumab and other early-stage oncology and immuno-oncology compounds.”
At ESMO, avelumab will be featured in four posters that add to the growing body of evidence of the potential of this investigational compound. These will include data updates in bladder cancer that confirm avelumab’s potential in this hard-to-treat cancer; and preliminary results from a combination study with axitinib in RCC that support the rationale to evaluate the combination in a Phase III pivotal study. Tepotinib, a highly selective c-Met kinase inhibitor, will also be highlighted in three posters, with updates on the ongoing study program in c-Met-positive metastatic NSCLC.

Several studies, which will be presented at ESMO, once again reaffirm Erbitux as a standard-of-care therapy for mCRC patients with RAS wild-type tumors and patients with SCCHN.

Merck believes that to truly deliver the promise of innovation for patients, it is vital to support and encourage research from other endeavors. This is demonstrated through Merck’s Grant for Oncology Innovation (GOI) initiative, which awards researchers for their pioneering independent work in pushing the boundaries of creativity and science in order to deliver transformative innovation. The award ceremony will once again coincide with ESMO and takes place on Sunday, October 9, 2016.