The FDA approved Merck’s (NYSE: [[ticker:MRK]]) treatment for chronic Hepatitis C virus (HCV), boceprevir (Victrelis), according to a press release. Boceprevir is the first of a new class of therapies known as HCV protease inhibitors, and it was approved to be used in combination with peginterferon alfa and ribavirin—two drugs that are considered the standard of care. Earlier this year, six analysts surveyed by Bloomberg predicted the drug’s sales would exceed $604 million per year by 2013.
Author: Arlene Weintraub
Arlene is an award-winning journalist specializing in life sciences and technology. She was previously a senior health writer based out of the New York City headquarters of BusinessWeek, where she wrote hundreds of articles that explored both the science and business of health. Her freelance pieces have been published in USA Today, US News & World Report, Technology Review, and other media outlets. Arlene has won awards from the New York Press Club, the Association of Health Care Journalists, the Foundation for Biomedical Research, and the American Society of Business Publication Editors. Her book about the anti-aging industry, Selling the Fountain of Youth, was published by Basic Books in September 2010.
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