Biopharmaceutical company EMD Serono has initiated co-promotion of XALKORI (crizotinib), an FDA-approved treatment for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), in collaboration with the company that produced the therapy, Pfizer. The commercialization efforts are in line with the global strategic alliance established by the two companies as well as their joint commitment to bring novel therapeutic options for oncology patients.
XALKORI is an anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitor that was approved by the FDA to treat metastatic NSCLC in patients with tumors tested positive for anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), according to the FDA-approved examination. Despite the fact that NSCLC is the most typical kind of lung cancer, there are numerous subtypes, which makes it harder to treat.
Pfizer’s new treatment is the first ALK inhibitor to receive approval from the American, Japanese and European authorities. The approvals were based on data presented by the company concerning two positive global randomized clinical trials that analyzed the treatment setting in both first- and second-line ALK-positive advanced NSCLC. Until now, and including the patients enrolled in the clinical trials, over 8,000 patients were already administered with XALKORI worldwide.
The joint efforts of Pfizer and EMD Serono to co-promote the new therapy are included in a previous global strategic alliance established by the U.S. biopharmaceutical business of the German Merck KGaA and Pfizer. The two companies had already collaboratively developed and commercialized an investigational anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody, called avelumab, designed to accelerate the creation of immuno-oncology therapies, with the companies planning to work on Pfizer’s PD-1 antibody.
“The XALKORI co-promotion between EMD Serono and Pfizer marks our first entry into the U.S. oncology market, further delivers on our EMD Serono strategy in specialty care and, most importantly, extends our work to help patients and their families battling serious diseases,” said the president and managing director at EMD Serono, Paris Panayiotopoulos. “As our pipeline progresses, we aim to build on this first entry with additional oncology and immuno-oncology therapies.”
EMD Serono is focused on providing specialty care in the oncology field for American patients, and the company is now making a strong XALKORI sales effort to enter the U.S. markets, particularly through cancer centers and with the clinical oncology community. In addition to the alliance with Pfizer, the company is also conducting other projects in the fields of oncology and immuno-oncology, such as multiple, high-priority research to enhance cancer patients’ therapy results.
