Merck and Pfizer Finalize Agreement to Co-Promote XALKORI®
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Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and Pfizer Inc., New York, US, have announced the finalization of the co-promotion agreement allowing the companies to co-promote Pfizer’s anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitor XALKORI® (crizotinib).
This agreement showcases the alliance’s commitment to establishing a combined oncology sales organization in key markets in advance of the potential launch of avelumab-based treatment regimens in the future.
XALKORI is the first ALK inhibitor approved in the United States, Japan and the European Union (EU) and is supported by two positive global randomized trials in the first- and second-line ALK-positive advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treatment settings. To date, globally more than 8,000 patients have been treated with XALKORI, including those who received XALKORI in clinical trials.
Under the agreement, XALKORI will be co-promoted in two waves, the first of which will begin in the second and third quarters of 2015 in the United States, Canada, Japan and five European Union countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom).
In the United States and Canada, XALKORI will be co-promoted by EMD Serono, the US and Canadian biopharmaceutical businesses of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. The second wave will begin in 2016 and includes China and Turkey.
In 2015, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, will receive a reimbursement associated with its promotion of XALKORI, followed by an 80 percent (Pfizer), 20 percent (Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany) profit sharing on the product starting in 2016. The co-promotion term will last through December 31, 2020 for the United States, Canada, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, and from January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2021 in China and Turkey. Pfizer will report the sales of XALKORI in countries where it is co-promoted with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.
"We are proud and excited to share the legacy of XALKORI, a medicine that changed the treatment paradigm for patients with ALK-positive metastatic NSCLC, with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany,” said Liz Barrett, president and general manager, Pfizer Oncology. “Through our co-promotion of XALKORI, we will establish a best-in-class global sales organization that will be exceptionally prepared for the potential launches of our future oncology medicines.”
“As we progress our robust program to co-develop and co-commercialize avelumab, the co-promotion agreement is an exciting milestone for the alliance between Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and Pfizer, allowing us to establish our combined oncology sales organization in key markets for the program,” said Dr. Andrew Schiermeier, head of Global Oncology and general manager for the Alliance for Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, adding: “For Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, this agreement is particularly important as it accelerates the establishment of our United States and Canada oncology sales organization ahead of our potential avelumab launches and positions us for future success in this market.”
This co-promotion relationship is related to the announcement in November 2014 of a global strategic alliance between Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and Pfizer to jointly develop and commercialize avelumab, an investigational anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody, to accelerate the development of immuno-oncology medicines for patients with cancer. The immuno-oncology alliance will also advance Pfizer’s PD-1 antibody.
