Pfizer's Viagra Refills Increase as Total Prescriptions Decline
Bloomberg News
May 26, 1998, 12:56 p.m. PT
Pfizer's Viagra Refills Increase as Total Prescriptions Decline
New York, May 26 (Bloomberg) -- Pfizer Inc.'s Viagra is
getting more refills even as the total number of prescriptions
for the first pill to treat impotence declined in the week ended
May 15, said IMS Health, an industry consulting group.
The drop in total Viagra prescriptions came before the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration Friday said six people taking the
pill had died. The FDA today said it can't confirm whether the
deaths were linked to Viagra.
Viagra became one of the best-selling drugs in the U.S.
after its introduction last month, with more than 1 million
prescriptions so far. Analysts expected demand for the drug to
level off after men tried their first doses. The number of
refills is more important in estimating how much Viagra will be
sold, they said.
''When there's pent-up demand for a drug, usually there's a
big spike (in sales) in the first weeks or months and then it
eases off and can start to grow again,'' said Jerome Brimeyer, an
analyst with UBS Securities Inc.
Pfizer fell 1 1/2 to 103 15/16 in late trading. In April,
early sales of Viagra pushed Pfizer to a record high 121 3/4.
The number of refills rose 46 percent to 35,100 in the week
ended May 15, while the total number of Viagra prescriptions fell
1.9 percent to 297,666 from 303,424 in the previous week, IMS
Health said.
''The new prescriptions are leveling off and the refills are
starting to kick in,'' said Jeffrey Chaffkin, an analyst with
PaineWebber Inc.
Unexplained Deaths
It's uncertain how recent news about the unexplained deaths
of six Viagra users will effect the drug's sales, Chaffkin said.
''Doctors may be less willing than before to write a prescription
for everyone who asks for it,'' he said.
This week's decline in total sales isn't a cause for
concern, said Chaffkin, who has an ''attractive'' rating on
Pfizer. If prescriptions remain at this level, Pfizer will have
about $1.2 billion in annual U.S. sales of Viagra, he said.
The real test will be the June prescriptions, Chaffkin said.
Sales for late May would have been expected to slip because of
the Memorial Day holiday even without the warning, Chaffkin said.
Thursday, Pfizer said it was sending letters to emergency room
personnel warning about the dangers of mixing Viagra with some
heart medicine. Friday, the FDA disclosed the news about the
deaths. Pfizer declined to comment about the reported deaths.
Analysts have speculated that the six deaths may be
connected to misuse of the drug or have been the result of heart
attacks. Pfizer estimates that about 85 percent of Viagra
prescriptions were written for men over 50 years of age, said
Andrew McCormick, a company spokesman.
IMS Health is a unit of Westport, Connecticut-based
Cognizant Corp.
--Kerry Dooley in the Princeton newsroom (609) 279-4016, with |
