Merck Korea’s metastatic colorectal cancer and head and neck cancer Erbitux(cetuximab) is eligible for insurance reimbursement on March 5, 2014. This is a result of efforts by the government and Merck Korea, the distributor of Erbitux, to improve insurance coverage of cancer-fighting patients. The reimbursement approval comes about 10 years after Erbitux was approved in Korea in 2005 as an orphan drug.
Erbitux is the only targeted metastatic colorectal cancer drug currently available with a biomarker in Korea. Biomarker testing is required before treatment which is given to only mutation-negative patients.
FIRE-3 study demonstrated that Erbitux was more effective in survival extension in KRAS-negative patients than other targeted cancer drugs.
Erbitux is the only head and neck targeted cancer drug and it demonstrated clinical usefulness for the first time in 30 years.
“We are excited about the reimbursement approval that comes about 10 years after Erbitux was first approved as an orphan drug in Korea in 2005 and this will help extend survival in patients who suffer from metastatic colorectal cancer and head and neck cancer,” said Merck Ltd., the Korean distributor of Erbitux.