A clinical trial proved that Erbitux is more effective in extending the lives of bowel cancer patients than Roche's Avastin.

According to the study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago, the oral drug Erbitux- with generic name cetuximab formulated to treat patients suffering from bowel cancer and head and neck cancer- is more effective than Roche's Avastin in terms of extending the lives of the bowel cancer patients.  The tests yielded an average of survival for 28.7 months compared to Avastin's 25 months. 

The study sponsored by Merck conducted a clinical trial on patients that contain a normal version of the gene KRAS- the gene responsible for the development of cancer.  The test was successful as it prolonged the lives of the patients without getting their disease worse for an average of four months.

Merck refused to comment about their next steps after this discovery especially that it can potentially increase their sales. Last year, Roche earned $6 billion with the sales of Avastin while Merck only had $1.15 billion for Erbitux.

However, Volker Heinemann, lead author of the study and oncology professor at Munich University, Germany clarified that patients may prioritize Erbitux but may also try Avastin in case the prior is ineffective for them. 

The American Cancer Society estimates that about 102,480 of color cancer and 40,340 rectal cancer cases of this disease will be reported this year and 50,830 will die in the U.S. Among all cancers, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer and the third among the deadliest too. Generally, everyone has a 5.1 percent risk to developing this type of cancer in a lifetime. Although the mortality rate has been dropping for 20 years, the risk is still there but can be prevented through early treatment.  To date, there are over one million survivors in the U.S.