Lilly to present more than 50 studies at oncology conference

INDIANAPOLIS The cancer drug arm of Eli Lilly plans to show data from more than 50 studies at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago next month, Lilly said Monday.

Lilly Oncology’s presentations will include data from studies of Alimta (pemetrexed), Gemzar (gemcitabine hydrochloride) and Erbitux (cetuximab), which it will present with partners Bristol-Myers Squibb and German drug maker Merck-Serono, a separate company from U.S.-based Merck. Lilly acquired rights to Erbitux when it acquired ImClone Systems in 2008.

“Lilly Oncology research teams around the world are committed to finding new ways to improve and prolong the lives of people living with cancer,” Lilly Oncology president John Johnson said. “We are constantly studying new uses for our established therapies and discovering new molecules – all in the hopes of changing the way we treat cancer.”

The company placed particular emphasis on a phase 2 trial of Alimta combined with platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer and also will present studies on such investigational cancer drugs as ramucirumab and cixutumumab, made by ImClone, and tasisulam.