The FDA's Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee unanimously recommended approval of both Merck & Co. Inc.'s boceprevir and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s telaprevir. Both drugs are protease inhibitors intended to be used in conjunction with the current standard of care, pegylated interferon and ribavirin to treat hepatitis C.

The FDA approved abiraterone, an oral androgen biosynthesis inhibitor, in combination with prednisone for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients who have received prior docetaxel-based chemotherapy. Abiraterone, branded Zytiga, will be sold by Johnson & Johnson unit Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc.