Vertex, J&J Hepatitis C Drug Gets European Union Nod

After winning US approval in May, the new hepatitis C virus treatment telaprevir has been OK'd by EU regulators, Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Johnson & Johnson said Tuesday. J&J has European rights to the drug; Vertex, which holds exclusive US rights, will receive European royalties. The action was anticipated, given that the European Medicines Agency recommended approval in July. Sold under the brand name Incivek in the United States, telaprevir will be branded as Incivo in Europe. In studies, telaprevir administered with standard HCV treatment nearly doubled the cure rate achieved by standard treatment alone.