WHO overhauls antibiotics advice, adds CML, HCV drugs to Essential Medicines List

7 June 2017

The World Health Organization (WHO) has updated its Essential Medicines List, to include new advice on antibiotics aimed at forestalling an impending antimicrobial resistance crisis.

Among other additions are two chronic myeloid leukemia therapies: dasatinib, marketed as Sprycel by Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY), and nilotinib, marketed as Tasigna by Novartis (SIX: NOVN).

The full list also includes the combination therapy sofosbuvir plus velpatasvir - Gilead’s (Nasdaq: GILD) Epclusa - as a treatment for all six types of hepatitis C.

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