Merck Announces VICTRELIS First-in-Class Oral Hepatitis C Virus Protease Inhibitor, Approved in the EU for Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis C

Merck MRK today announced that the European Commission has approved VICTRELISTM (boceprevir) for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C genotype 1 infection, in combination with peginterferon alfa and ribavirin, in adult patients with compensated liver disease who are previously untreated or who have failed previous therapy. Chronic hepatitis C virus is a potentially serious viral infection of the liver that affects an estimated 4 million people in Europe.