New Market Research Study Shows Lung Cancer Treatments Differ Significantly by Both...

New Market Research Study Shows Lung Cancer Treatments Differ Significantly by
Both Age and Geography

New Merck KGaA Study Reveals Wide Variations in Therapy Regimens, with
Monotherapy Most Common in Elderly Patients and Triplets Most Prevalent in the
US

ORLANDO, Fla., June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- There are striking differences in
treatment regimens for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, based on
both age and geography, according to a new market research study conducted by
Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, presented as a poster on Saturday at the 2009
ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology) meeting in Orlando, Florida
(Abstract no.: 8053; Poster no.: N15). Performed in conjunction with TNS
Healthcare, the representative study shows that among patients with advanced
NSCLC, monotherapy is used most often among those 70 or older, while
combination therapies are administered most frequently to younger patients.
Location also is a key factor in determining therapy choice, with a
chemotherapy doublet plus a targeted agent far more common in the US than in
Europe.

"While chemotherapy doublets remain the standard regimen for first-line
treatment of stage IIIB and IV NSCLC, there are substantial differences among
regions in the doublets most often chosen and whether a targeted agent is
concurrently administered," says J.F. Vansteenkiste, first author of the
poster. "For example, the preferred doublet in Europe is platinum plus
gemcitabine, used in 29% of patients. In contrast, in the US and Japan,
platinum plus taxanes is predominant, used in more than a quarter of American
and more than half of Japanese patients."

"The most extensive use of doublets plus targeted agent is in the US, in
contrast with Europe and Japan. Almost half of non-squamous cancer patients
younger than 70 are being treated with these combinations in the US. Even
among those older than 70, more than a quarter of patients are on chemotherapy
doublets plus targeted agent." Randomized phase III studies have shown that
adding targeted agents to standard first-line treatments can prolong overall
survival.

Almost 5,000 NSCLC Patients Monitored

Merck KGaA already had presented at last year's ASCO a landmark study for
Erbitux in combination with standard 1st-line chemotherapy in advanced NSCLC
which showed for the first time in 10 years a significant survival benefit in
a broad patient population. In the current study Merck KGaA monitored 4,950
patients from May to mid-July 2008 across Western Europe (Spain, Italy,
Germany, France and the UK), the US and Japan. TNS Healthcare recruited
oncologists in the US, oncologists, radiotherapists and pulmonologists in
Europe and pulmonologists and respiratory surgeons in Japan to participate.
Physicians who contributed provided information through on-line patient record
forms.

About Merck...

Merck is a global pharmaceutical and chemical company with total revenues of
euro 7.6 billion in 2008, a history that began in 1668, and a future shaped by
32,700 employees in 60 countries. Its success is characterized by innovations
from entrepreneurial employees. Merck's operating activities come under the
umbrella of Merck KGaA, in which the Merck family holds an approximately 70%
interest and free shareholders own the remaining approximately 30%. In 1917
the U.S. subsidiary Merck & Co. was expropriated and has been an independent
company ever since.

About TNS Healthcare...

TNS Healthcare provides market research consulting to the worldwide
pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device industries, as well as
health-focused ad agencies, media and analysts. It offers globally consistent
solutions and custom advisory services to support product introductions;
brand, treatment and sales performance optimization; and physician and DTC
promotional assessment.

Informing decisions across the life cycle, TNS Healthcare offers action-ready
insights for pre- launch landscaping, market and opportunity assessment,
segmentation, positioning, message and campaign creation, pricing,
forecasting, attitude and awareness measurement and post-launch tracking. It
delivers information across stakeholders--including physicians, patients and
consumers--to help companies anticipate and impact customers' behaviors. TNS
Healthcare provides both qualitative and quantitative offerings, using
traditional and on- line methodologies, combining worldwide reach with local
expertise.

For more information, visit www.tnsglobal.com/healthcare.

SOURCE TNS Healthcare

Ilene Siegalovsky, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications of TNS
Healthcare, +1-212-647-7200, Ilene.Siegalovsky@tns-global.com