Vertex, Merck Drugs Help More With Faster Cure for Hepatitis C

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Merck & Co. said their experimental drugs for hepatitis C cured more patients than traditional treatment, and many people were able to take a shorter, less toxic course of therapy.

Two-thirds of patients given Vertex’s telaprevir were able to cut their treatment time in half to six months, and about 90 percent were cured, two studies funded by the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company found. Nearly half of those given boceprevir in studies from Whitehouse Station, New Jersey-based Merck were able to reduce their treatment times to six months to nine months, with similar high rates of cure.