Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:VRTX]]) faces a test today for its experimental drug for hepatitis C virus, telaprevir, as the FDA Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee meets today in Silver Springs, MD, to review the firm’s application for approval of the treatment. NASDAQ has halted trading of the Cambridge, MA-based firm’s common stock today, according to Vertex. Yesterday the same FDA panel voted unanimously in favor of recommending approval of Whitehouse Station, NJ-based Merck & Co.’s (NYSE:[[ticker:MRK]]) hepatitis C pill boceprevir, and many industry watchers are expecting Vertex to have similar success today. An FDA staff review released on Tuesday gave Vertex’s hepatitis C pill some high marks as a treatment for the liver disease.
Author: Ryan McBride
Ryan is an award-winning business journalist who contributes to our life sciences and technology coverage. He was previously a staff writer for Mass High Tech, a Boston business and technology newspaper, where he and his colleagues won a national business journalism award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers in 2008. In recent years, he has made regular TV appearances on New England Cable News.
Prior to MHT, Ryan covered the life sciences, technology, and energy sectors for Providence Business News. He graduated with honors from the University of Rhode Island in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in communications. When he’s not chasing down news, Ryan enjoys mountain biking and skiing in his home state of Vermont.
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