Novartis' Jakavi drug wins EU green light for wider use

Reuters
The logo of Swiss drugmaker Novartis is seen at its headquarters in Basel October 22, 2013. Novartis raised its full-year outlook for a second quarter in a row on Tuesday due to the ongoing absence of generic competition to its best-selling blood pressure pill Diovan. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

ZURICH (Reuters) - Novartis said on Friday its drug Jakavi has been recommended by European health regulators for wider use, boosting the sales prospects for the medicine. European Medicines Agency (EMA) experts recommended that Jakavi -- which is already approved to treat myelofibrosis, a form of blood cancer -- be given the green light as a treatment for polycythemia vera, a chronic incurable blood cancer. Recommendations for marketing approval by the agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) are normally endorsed by the European Commission within a couple of months. (Reporting by Caroline Copley)