Esbriet pirfenidone regulatory update

Health Canada approved Esbriet pirfenidone from InterMune to treat mild to moderate idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in adults. InterMune plans to launch the drug in Canada on Jan. 1, 2013. InterMune said it expects to secure insurance coverage of Esbriet from "some" private insurance plans in Canada next quarter and from "substantially all" of the private insurance plans in 2Q13. The company also said reimbursement of new medicines from public drug reimbursement plans is typically secured within 6-18 months after the launch. ...