Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated Release: INCIVEK™ (telaprevir) Now Funded in Alberta and New Brunswick for People With Hepatitis C

LAVAL, Quebec--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated announced today that the provinces of Alberta and New Brunswick are now funding INCIVEK™ (telaprevir) tablets in combination with pegylated-interferon and ribavirin for residents with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C. The Alberta Health decision comes following an evaluation by the Alberta Provincial Drugs and Therapeutic Committee. INCIVEK funding in Alberta and New Brunswick includes patients who are being treated for the first time, as well as those who were treated previously, but did not achieve a sustained virologic response (SVR, or virologic cure), including null responders. Null responders, or those who do not respond to initial treatment, typically have the most difficult time achieving a cure.