BAYN Bayer AG

By Colin Kellaher

Merck & Co. on Thursday said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration accepted and granted priority review to its new drug application for vericiguat, which it is jointly developing with Bayer AG.

The Kenilworth, N.J., drug maker said it is seeking approval of vericiguat to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death and heart-failure hospitalization following a worsening heart-failure event in patients with symptomatic chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, in combination with other heart-failure therapies.

The FDA grants priority review to medicines that have the potential to provide significant improvements in the treatment of a serious disease, and the designation shortens the review period to six months from the standard 10 months. Merck said the agency set a target action date of Jan. 20, 2021, for the application.

Merck and Germany's Bayer have been collaborating in the field of soluble guanylate cyclase modulators such as vericiguat since October 2014.

Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 16, 2020 07:26 ET (11:26 GMT)

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