Merck's (MRK.US) "first-in-class" small molecule drug has been approved for two indications in the EU.

Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK.US) today announced that the European Commission has granted conditional marketing authorization for its oral hypoxia-inducible factor 2α (HIF-2α) inhibitor, Welireg (belzutifan), for the treatment of adult patients with von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease who have locally advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), central nervous system (CNS) hemangioblastoma, or pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNET). The press release noted that Welireg is the first HIF-2α inhibitor approved in the EU and the first systemic therapy approved for tumors associated with VHL disease.