Vertex Pharmaceuticals (MA) Release: INCIVEK™ (telaprevir) Now Funded for People With Hepatitis C in Quebec and Saskatchewan

LAVAL, Quebec--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: VRTX) announced today that the province of Quebec is now funding INCIVEK™ (telaprevir) tablets for residents living with chronic hepatitis C. The decision comes following a priority evaluation by the Institut National D’Excellence en Santé et en Services Sociaux (INESSS). This decision includes funding for 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, have the hardest time achieving a cure. INCIVEK is the only direct-acting antiviral medicine approved for the treatment of this group of patients. Funding in Quebec will be provided for patients with all levels of fibrosis (scarring of the liver) and in combination with available pegylated-interferon and ribavirin combinations. Earlier this month, Saskatchewan became the first province in Canada to fund this new medicine. Vertex is working closely with other provincial reimbursement agencies to secure funding that will make INCIVEK accessible to more people with hepatitis C across all of Canada.