Vertex Pharmaceuticals'(VRTX) new hepatitis C drug Incivek is outselling Victrelis, a rival drug from Merck(MRK), in the early weeks of their respective commercial launches. U.S. regulators approved Incivek and Victrelis in May just 10 days apart, which means Vertex and Merck began marketing the competing hepatitis C drugs essentially at the same time. Investors rarely get to watch companies launch two similar drugs simultaneously -- particular two drugs tapping into a multi-billion dollar market like hepatitis C -- so investors are paying close attention to the early prescriptions written for Incivek and Victrelis.
