Merck & Co. announced this Monday that they would file for U.S. marketing approval of their experimental insomnia drug suvorexant in 2012.
According to company sources late-stage studies of the effectiveness of the drug are complete and said it will seek approval from the Food and Drug Administration. Suvorexant is designed to treat insomnia without causing sleepiness the following morning.
“Suvorexant selectively targets an important pathway involved in helping to promote sleep and, if approved, will be a new, first-in-class treatment for patients with insomnia,” said Peter S. Kim, president of Merck Research Laboratories. Suvorexant is one of the five major U.S. filings Merck anticipates for 2012 and 2013.
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