Drug makers Merck & Co. and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Monday they will move on to a mid-stage clinical trial for their cancer treatment now that a dosing trial is complete.

The companies said MK-0457, also known as VX-680, showed promising clinical activity in patients with two specific types of leukemia and those with myeloproliferative diseases, or diseases distinct from leukemia in which cancerous bone marrow cells multiply and spread through the blood.

"Many patients with leukemia develop resistance to standard anti-cancer therapies such as imatinib because of a mutation of the disease," said Stephen H. Friend, executive vice president, oncology, Merck Research Laboratories. "MK-0457 is the first compound to show clinical activity in patients with these treatment-resistant forms of blood cancer."

Merck and Vertex did not find any drug-related toxicities unrelated to blood in patients; therefore a maximum-tolerated dose has not yet been established. Side effects of the drug included lower white blood cell count, nausea, hair loss and mouth inflammation.

The companies started a collaboration on cancer drugs in June 2004.

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