Merck's Hepatitis C Treatment Suppresses Virus
In the trials the drug significantly increased the number of patients whose virus was at undetectable levels six months after stopping treatment, the company said in a statement. The trials are the third and last round usually needed before applying for regulatory approval, which Merck said it will seek in the U.S. and Europe this year.
Boceprevir could have more than $500 million in sales by 2014, said Seamus Fernandez, an analyst with Leerink Swann & Co. in a research report. The company got the drug in its $49.6 billion acquisition last year of Schering-Plough Corp. The drug may compete with Roche Holding AG’s Pegasys with $1.5 billion in sales last year and Vertex Pharmaceuticals telaprevir, currently in late-stage testing.
Source: Bloomberg
