ImClone Systems Inc.'s drug Erbitux has failed to help pancreatic cancer patients live longer. It's also failed to grow ImClone's market -- not surprising since it's the company's only drug.

Imclone, partnering with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., wanted to see Erbitux -- already cleared for use with colon, head, and neck cancers -- extend the lives of patients with cancer marked by a spread to the pancreas.

No one is giving up just yet, and Imclone plans additional tests on Erbitux's use in pancreatic cancer. A study using a combination of Erbitux and Avastin and chemotherapy is up next.

"There are reasons to think Erbitux works in pancreatic cancer, but the current results are not as dramatic as we hoped," said Alex Denner, lead for an executive committee that manages ImClone. "We remain committed to evaluating Erbitux in pancreatic cancer."

If approved, Erbitux will compete with Tarceva, sold by Roche Holding AG, Genentech Inc., and OSI Pharmaceuticals Inc. as a treatment for pancreatic and lung cancers.

About 37,170 new cases of pancreatic cancer are expected to occur in 2007 in the United States. And 33,370 people will die from the disease, according to the American Cancer Society. Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive cancers, and there is no screening option that works at catching the disease in its early stages.

Only about 5 percent of patients with pancreatic cancer are still alive five years after being diagnosed.

Metastatic colorectal cancer is commonly treated with a regime called FOLFIRI, consisting of 5-fluorouracil, Camptosar (irinotecan), and leucovorin. Long term survival with this treatment has shown to have mediocre results.

Erbitux (cetuximab) is a type of targeted therapy called a monoclonal antibody. Erbitux targets EGFR, the epidermal growth factor receptor, and can reduce the spread of cancer.

The addition of Erbitux to the chemotherapy regime FOLFIRI can improve progression free survival compared to just receiving FOLFIRI alone. The CRYSTAL study compared Erbitux/FOLFIRI to FOLFIRI alone for treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. One thousand patients who had not received any prior therapy after learning of the spread of the disease were enrolled in the Phase III clinical trial.

The study concluded that it was indeed a good idea to include Erbitux with the FOLFIRI in first line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer. Progression free survival was significantly improved.

More and more we are hearing about monoclonal antibody's like Erbitux. Here is some other information posted on The Cancer Blog about Erbitux:

200 companies, 340 immunotherapy drugs, 600 clinical trials

Terminal cancer patients question worth of remaining life

UK patients angry as new bowel cancer drugs are rejected

First time in 45 years new drug for head and neck cancers

Cancer Drug May Prolong Survival

At this time, there are 200 companies engaged in 600 clinical trials that involve 340 immunotherapy drugs -- all under study in an attempt to assist in the treatment of 40 different cancers. The top five targeted cancers are melanoma, breast, lung, prostate, and colorectal.

While antibody studies are the top headline-makers right now, cancer vaccines are following behind. With the recent approval of Gardasil -- the cervical cancer vaccine -- the push for more vaccine options will become strong. Future industry challenges also include discovering strong antigens, effective immunomodulators, and suitable delivery technologies.

Powerful drugs like Avastin, Erbitux, and Rituxan are just the precursors to what might lie ahead for cancer patients as a result of this widespread effort to knock cancer out of the ballpark.

It's a question that could face any one of us at any time -- the question over whether to pay the high cost of cancer treatment, when it could send us into debt, or to discontinue treatment in order to save money for the family members who will survive us. Dying of lung cancer, Carolyn Hobbs was confronted with this exact question when considering a new biotechnology drug -- Erbitux -- that she learned cost $1,800. The drug may have extended her life but she determined it wasn't worth it -- and she refused the treatment.

During the last decade, expensive new treatments -- some upwards of $50,000 -- have given some patients their first real fighting chance against disease. The problem with these treatments, however, is that most patients will only survive an extra few months. A lucky few may survive for years. For some, maybe the small fortune these few months or years cost is worth it. For others, squandering their life savings on an extended death sentence is not worth it.

For me -- right now -- I believe I would do anything possible to ensure a longer life. And according to one poll, nearly one-third of Americans faced with death would also do anything possible to survive just a bit longer. This percentage is up from one-fifth in 1990. So I have some company in my corner. But I have not walked in the shoes that require this type of decision. I can only speculate about how I might approach this life-and-death decision. And hopefully, I will never have to make it.

I feel fortunate to have received every cancer drug I needed to fight my breast cancer -- Adriamycin, Cytoxan, Herceptin, and every nausea pill, pain capsule, and anti-anxiety formula on the market. I got exactly what doctors thought I needed -- without worry about availability or funding or politics. I am lucky. Some in the UK are not so lucky.

Two targeted therapies for bowel cancer will not be used in Britain's state-run health system, according to NICE -- the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. NICE, the country's financial watchdog, determined the high cost of the medicines meant their use was not compatible with the best use of resources. Patients are angry because these same two drugs -- Avastin and Erbitux -- are used widely in the United States and in much of Europe. And while neither drug offers a cure for bowel cancer, both treatments have been shown in clinical trials to extend life expectancy by four or five months in some patients.

Based on doses given during the trials, it is estimated that the average cost of treating one patient with Avastin would be around 16,800 pounds and with Erbitux -- about 11,700 pounds. Apparently, this is too much. But according to Hilary Whittaker of the charity Beating Bowel Cancer, the decision to deprive patients of this medication is a scandal. I agree. And for these patients, I am sad.

For the first time in 45 years, a new drug effective in the treatment for head and neck cancer has been approved by The Food and Drug Administration, FDA. Erbitux, cetuximab, will be administered in combination with radiation therapy to treat patients with squamous cell cancer of the head and neck that can not be removed by surgery, and for use alone to treat patients whose head and neck cancer has metastasized after chemotherapy has failed to bring about a favorable outcome. In the 1950's, methotrexate was the last drug approved to treat head and neck cancer. Standard cancer statistics estimate that there are about 29,000 new cases of head and neck cancer diagnosed every year in the United States.

Colo-rectal cancer drug Erbitux showed potential in prolonging survival of patients in a Phase II, or mid-stage trial, German drugs and chemicals group Merck said Thursday.

Merck said the drug, when combined with therapy using a chemical called irinotecan, could improve survival for patients whose cancer had spread beyond the bowel and who could not be operated on.

The company's goal is to market Erbitux in combination with radiation and to market Erbitux on its own as a treatment for squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck cancer.

However, the ridiculously high cost of the drug may put it out of reach for many cancer patients. Several reports I've seen put the cost anywhere from $4,400 per month, to upwards of $150,00 for a year's supply. Which begs the question, why do these drugs cost so much?