First approval for simeprevir

Medivir AB (SSE:MVIR B) was up SEK11.50 (11%) to SEK112 on Friday after it and partner Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) said Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) approved Sovriad simeprevir to treat HCV genotype 1 infection. The Japanese approval triggered a EUR 5 million ($6.8 million) milestone to Medivir from J&J. The second-generation HCV NS3/4A protease inhibitor is indicated in combination with pegylated interferon alfa and ribavirin in patients who are treatment-naïve with high HCV RNA levels or who failed previous interferon-based therapy. ...