Merck KGaA expands cancer drug portfolio

Merck KGaA is to acquire most of the global rights for the colorectal cancer treatment UFT (tegafur-uracil) from Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., of Japan.

Taiho will supply the capsules to Merck for its territories and will retain rights in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore. Financial details were not disclosed.

UFT already has marketing approval in approximately 60 countries throughout Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America, but is not approved in the US. It will complement Merck's current treatment for colorectal cancer, the monoclonal antibody Erbitux, which is approved in 39 countries around the world.

Merck acquired UFT after Bristol-Myers Squibb returned worldwide rights of the product to Taiho Pharmaceutical for strategic business reasons. A smooth transition from B-MS to Merck is anticipated, with Merck taking over sales and marketing responsibility for UFT as soon as possible.

UFT is an oral chemotherapy administered with folinic acid (FA) for first-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. It shows comparable efficacy to intravenously administered 5-FU/FA, the mainstay treatment for this type of cancer, but with practically no disabling hand-foot syndrome, a painful condition that occurs with other oral 5-FU derivatives. Erbitux is approved for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer when chemotherapy alone is no longer effective.

'We see this as an excellent opportunity to extend our product portfolio, particularly in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer,' said Elmar J. Schnee, president of global ethical pharmaceuticals for Merck KGaA. 'Adding UFT is a natural fit, even though Erbitux and UFT are intended for different stages of treatment.'