Almac, Merck, MRC To Assess Erbitux Response Markers

Almac, Merck KGaA, and UK-based Medical Research Council (MRC), have entered into a partnership to study metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) using samples from the MRC COIN trial. The study will assess potential biomarkers of response to cetuximab (Erbitux).

Almac will use samples from the COIN trial to perform quantitative polymerase chain reaction profiling and data analysis to assess other potential biomarkers in the context of combination therapy with cetuximab.

Paul Harkin, president of Almac Diagnostics, said, “Almac is delighted to once again be involved in such an important study. The use of retrospective analysis from formalin fixed paraffin embedded samples will be one of the keys to successfully delivering better molecular diagnostics, which is paramount in the development of personalized medicine”

The MRC COIN study is a Phase III, multi-center study in first-line treatment of mCRC. The study focuses on examining whether the combination of oxaliplatin and cetuximab with fluoropyrimidine chemotherapy improves patient outcomes.