FDA OKs Merck’s Singulair for Hay Fever
From Bloomberg News
Merck & Co. won approval from the Food and Drug Administration to sell its Singulair asthma medication as a treatment for hay fever, a market that the drug maker said may help sales of the medicine top $2 billion this year.
Sales of Singulair, which requires a prescription, rose 7% to $1.1 billion in the first nine months of last year.
The new allergy claim will allow Singulair to compete with Schering-Plough Corp.’s Claritin, the world’s best-selling treatment.
Shares of New Jersey-based Merck rose $1.64, or 2.9%, to $58.25 on the NYSE.
