Merck Serono: Publication of Survival Benefit in Leading Journal Emphasizes Importance of Erbitux in 1st Line mCRC

DARMSTADT, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, today announced that an updated analysis of the Phase III CRYSTALa study has been published in the latest edition of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The analysis included the evaluation of overall survival (OS) according to KRAS mutation status in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), and found that the addition of Erbitux® (cetuximab) to standard chemotherapy (FOLFIRI) in patients with KRAS wild-type disease resulted in a significant improvement in OS of 3.5 months, compared with FOLFIRI alone.1 CRYSTAL is the only trial to date to demonstrate a significant overall survival benefit of a targeted therapy in combination with current standard chemotherapy (FOLFIRI) in 1st line treatment of mCRC.