Merck’s boceprevir scores high in PhIII hep C trial

Merck says its hepatitis C drug boceprevir hit its primary endpoints in two Phase III studies and will file for an approval of the potential blockbuster by the end of this year. And analysts quickly began to handicap Merck's chances against Vertex, which has compiled a mountain of positive data for its hep C drug telaprevir. Boceprevir was one of the jewels in Schering-Plough's crown when Merck swept in to buy up the company. Analysts give it high marks and say that the drug has the potential...

‘New Merck’ spotlights late-stage strategy but shelves biosimilar

Merck brought out its top guns at this morning's R&D meeting to make a bullish case for its late-stage prospects in the wake of a $41 billion mega-merger with Schering-Plough. Regulators in the U.S. and Europe are reviewing applications from Merck on four NMEs, and the Big Pharma company plans to file for five more approvals later in the year. Meanwhile there are 20 programs in late-stage development. Up for approval this year is a new contraceptive, an extended-release version of the...