In a move to expand the potential use of its experimental product, the Stimuvax cancer vaccine, and a subsequent regulatory approval for the use of the drug in with breast tumor patients, Merck KGaA has begun the third and last phase of testing of the drug.

The Darmstadt, Germany-based Merck said that the vaccine, which is already being tested in non-small cell lung cancer, will be investigated in the so-called Stride trial, for establishing its effectiveness in increasing the longevity of breast cancer patients, with a check on further progression of the disease.

According to Merck, which sells the Erbitux cancer drug outside the US, Stimuvax - which is co-developed by the US biotech firm Oncothyreon - is essentially a therapeutic vaccine that can trigger an immune response such that it augments the body's ability to kill cancer cells itself.
 

Saying that Stimuvax may well be "the first real tumor vaccine," Oliver Kisker, Merck's Senior VP of oncology clinical development unit, said that the company intends developing the product "within a robust clinical trial program across several cancer types."
 

In fact, Merck is competing with firms like Transgene, Dendreon Corp and Antigenics to bring cancer vaccines to market - while Transgene's TG4010 compound also targets lung tumors; the Dendreon drug is aimed at prostate cancer; and the Antigenics drug is for brain cancer.