UPDATE 1-Medicines Co gets FDA nod for blood pressure drug
(Recasts, adds details, share movement)
BANGALORE, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Medicines Co (MDCO.O) said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its injectable blood pressure drug, Cleviprex, sending its shares up as much as 6 percent to its highest level in more than a year.
The drug will be launched in September, company spokesman Robyn Brown said in an e-mail.
Last month, the company had forecast 2008 revenue of $335 million to $355 million, including an estimated $5 million to $10 million from Cleviprex sales.
The drug, which is given intravenously, is designed for the rapid and precise control of high blood pressure when oral therapy is not feasible or desirable, the company said.
Cleviprex is the first new intravenous treatment for acute hypertension to be approved in a decade, according to the Parsippany, New Jersey-based drugmaker.
Shares of the company were up 79 cents at $23.39 in morning trade on Nasdaq. They touched a high of $24 earlier in the session. (Reporting by Anand Basu in Bangalore; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
