02 May Abituzumab in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany to Develop Abituzumab in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer with SFJ Pharmaceuticals Group
- Agreement enables Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, to further develop abituzumab through a novel risk-sharing collaboration agreement
- SFJ Pharmaceuticals Group to develop abituzumab as a first-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) in combination with Erbitux® and chemotherapy
- Clinical program will concentrate on patients with RAS wild-type left-sided tumors with high ανβ6 integrin expression
Darmstadt, Germany, May 2, 2018 – Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a leading science and technology company which operates its healthcare business in the U.S. and Canada as EMD Serono, today announced a development agreement for investigational molecule abituzumab with SFJ Pharmaceuticals Group (SFJ), a US- based company focused on increasing R&D output and productivity through innovative models.
“Our collaboration with SFJ illustrates Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany’s increasing focus on strategic partnering in order to further diversify our development risks as well as enable a more efficient pipeline prioritization,” said Belén Garijo, member of the Executive Board of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and CEO Healthcare. “Together with SFJ, we aim to progress the understanding of the potential of abituzumab as a targeted treatment for patients suffering from mCRC.”