Novartis' Jakavi drug wins EU green light for wider use

Novartis said on Friday its drug Jakavi has been recommended by European health regulators for wider use, boosting the sales prospects for the medicine.

European Medicines Agency (EMA) experts recommended that Jakavi -- which is already approved to treat myelofibrosis, a form of blood cancer -- be given the green light as a treatment for polycythemia vera, a chronic incurable blood cancer.

Recommendations for marketing approval by the agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) are normally endorsed by the European Commission within a couple of months.