• 1/24/2008
  • London, England
  • staff
  • CNNMoney.com

U.K. diagnostics company Lab21 Ltd. said Thursday it’s developed a test for a gene which plays a vital role in whether or not cancer patients will respond to certain drugs. The Cambridge, England-based firm said the test is for the analysis of the K- ras gene.

In around 40% of cancer patients this gene is mutated and the resulting protein can limit the effectiveness of some cancer therapies, it said.

Scientists showed recently that cetuximab, a treatment for colorectal and head and neck cancer marketed by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) as Erbitux, is poorly responsive if the tumors carry a mutated K-ras gene.

Research has also shown mutations in K-ras confer resistance to erlotinib, Genentech Inc. (DNA) and Roche Holding AG’s (RHHBY) treatment for lung and pancreatic cancer, sold under the brand name Tarceva.

Using the test means patients with the mutated K-ras gene could be given alternative drugs, which would improve their chances of successful treatment, reduce their exposure to potential toxicities and save cash, according to Graham Mullis, Lab21 Chief Executive Officer.

“This form of personalized medicine whereby drugs are tailored to the genetic background of the target patient is becoming more important as more drugs are being developed which have clinical benefits for these specifically targeted patients,” said Mullis.

One well-known example is Herceptin, Genentech and Roche’s blockbuster breast cancer treatment. It’s designed for the treatment of cancers which overexpress a protein called HER-2 and patients are tested for this protein before treatment.

Cambridge-based Lab21 said it is now launching a fully-approved commercial testing system for K-ras