The high cost of colon cancer drugs is once again under fire, this time with Bayer and Onyx in the hot seat. In a Lancet editorial accompanying pivotal trial results for regorafenib, U.K. authors doubt the modestly efficacious drug will ever prove cost-effectiveness in colon cancer, but that its role in GIST looks more compelling.

Ahead of schedule, FDA approves Stivarga (regorafenib), partnered with Onyx, for late-stage mCRC patients with few options left. Bayer prices drug at under $10,000 a month, on par with competing treatments.

Erbitux wins FDA approval for first-line metastatic colorectal cancer negative for KRAS mutations detected with a companion diagnostic specifically approved for the drug. In theory, earlier use could help shore up sales. But the drug faces a tough competitor in the dominant Avastin and new products are on the near horizon.