EU agency backs new drugs from Actelion and Lundbeck

LONDON (Reuters) – European regulators have recommended approval of Swiss firm Actelion’s new pulmonary arterial hypertension drug Opsumit and a novel antidepressant called Brintellix from Denmark’s Lundbeck. The green light for Opsumit comes hard on the heels of its approval in the United States last week and buttresses Actelion’s position as a leading player in treating pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Opsumit is a successor to Actelion’s established medicine Tracleer, which loses patent protection in 2015. …