RENFLEXIStm (infliximab for injection) added to British Columbia's Provincial Drug Plan for all approved indications

RENFLEXIStm has been added to drug formulary for the treatment of adult and pediatric Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, as well as for the treatment of fistulising Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, and plaque psoriasis in adults.

KIRKLAND, QC, Aug. 22, 2018 /CNW/ - Merck Canada Inc., known as MSD outside Canada and the United States, today announced that the province of British Columbia will now reimburse RENFLEXIStm (infliximab for injection) under its public drug plan effective August 21, 2018.

RENFLEXIStm (infliximab for injection) is approved for the treatment of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis in adult and pediatric patients, as well as fistulising Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis and plaque psoriasis in adults.¹ 

"We are pleased to see the government of British Columbia add Renflexis to its formulary, which offers effective and more affordable treatment options for patients impacted by these diseases," said Manon Lafontaine, Vice-President, Patient Access, Merck Canada. "We're committed to continuing to work with provinces and territories throughout Canada to ensure broader access for all patients to the care they need."

For more information on the RENFLEXIS^tm public listing, please consult: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/health/health-drug-coverage/pharmacare/news18-011.pdf 

About inflammatory bowel diseases and inflammatory arthritis
Around 129,000 Canadians live with Crohn's disease and 104,000 with ulcerative colitis, the two main forms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).² Canada also has amongst the highest rates of childhood-onset IBD in the world³ with approximately 5,900 children living with the disease.² Since 1995, Crohn's disease in Canada has almost doubled in children under the age of 10.⁴ The burden of these conditions on patients is significant, with quality of life substantially affected.²

Inflammatory arthritis affects Canadians at every stage of life, irrespective of gender or ethnicity.⁵ Its most common forms include rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS).⁵ About 300,000 Canadian adults (one in every 100) have RA.⁶ While it can affect any person at any age, women are affected two to three times more frequently than men.⁶

Supporting Eligible Patients

Merck offers a comprehensive patient assistance program for RENFLEXIStm to eligible patients through its Merck HARMONY^® patient assistance program.

Indications for RENFLEXIS^TM1

For more information about RENFLEXIStm, including the full product indications and clinical data highlights, please consult the product monograph at: http://www.merck.ca/static/pdf/RENFLEXIS-PM_E.pdf

About Merck Biosimilars

For more information about Merck Biosimilars, visit www.merckbiosimilars.ca. Merck Canada Inc. is a member of the Canadian Biosimilars Forum, an alliance of companies who represent the breadth of the biosimilars industry and that are collectively working to increase awareness, access and adoption of biosimilars across Canada. For more information visit www.canadianbiosimilarsforum.ca.

About Merck

For over a century, Merck, a leading global biopharmaceutical company known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, has been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the world's most challenging diseases. Through our prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products, we work with customers and operate in more than 140 countries to deliver innovative health solutions. We also demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to health care through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships. Today, Merck continues to be at the forefront of research to advance the prevention and treatment of diseases that threaten people and communities around the world - including cancer, cardio-metabolic diseases, emerging animal diseases, Alzheimer's disease and infectious diseases including HIV and Ebola. For more information about our operations in Canada, visit www.merck.ca and connect with us on YouTube and Twitter @MerckCanada.

Forward-Looking Statement of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA

This news release of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA (the "company") includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the company's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, general industry conditions and competition; general economic factors, including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and health care legislation in the United States and internationally; global trends toward health care cost containment; technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining regulatory approval; the company's ability to accurately predict future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays; financial instability of international economies and sovereign risk; dependence on the effectiveness of the company's patents and other protections for innovative products; and the exposure to litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions.

The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in the company's 2016 Annual Report on Form 10-K and the company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) available at the SEC's Internet site (www.sec.gov).

References

SOURCE Merck Canada Inc.