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Biotech / Medical : Pharma News Only (pfe,mrk,wla, sgp, ahp, bmy, lly)

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To: Laurens who wrote (345)	6/17/1998 1:28:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) of 1722

Pfizer starts Viagra media campaign, may widen it Wednesday June 17, 11:26 am Eastern Time NEW YORK, June 17 (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc. (PFE - news) said Wednesday it placed prominent ads in 50 medical journals to apprise doctors of the benefits and risks of its wildly popular male impotence pill Viagra, and was considering an advertising push into the mainstream media as well. The move follows 16 reported deaths of men who took Viagra, though experts say the deaths do not mean the drug is dangerous as much as they suggest how little either doctors or patients know about the effects of mixing Viagra with other drugs. Pfizer spokesman Andrew McCormick said eight-page glossy ads featuring three older couples dancing began running this month in medical magazines such as the Journal of the American Medical Association; the New England Journal of Medicine; Diabetes; Cardiology; and Psychiatry. ''We think it is one of the largest campaigns of this sort (in medical journals). Many campaigns typically run four page ads while ours is eight pages,'' said McCormick, who declined to specify how much the ads cost. ''The dancing couples are used because erectile dysfunction is a condition affecting a man as well as his partner and we wanted to pinpoint that,'' McCormick added. He said the ads highlighted the ''safety and efficacy'' of the drug while also cautioning about the danger of patients with cardiovascular problems resuming sexual activity. Pfizer said about 2 million prescriptions had been written for the blue pills since they were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in late March. The FDA has counted 16 deaths among men who took Viagra, but the agency and Pfizer have said none were linked directly to the drug. However, at least three of the deaths were among men who had heart attacks and were then given nitroglycerin - a ''organic nitrate'' that Viagra's label warns can cause a dangerous drop in blood pressure if taken at the same taken as the impotence pill. The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday said Pfizer was expected to bring the dancing couple ads to consumer magazines by October. McCormick acknowledged a consumer campaign was on the drawing board but said he could offer no specifics, including whether ads would appear on television, in magazines, or in newspapers. ''We haven't finalized our plans. Details of timing and content are being looked at,'' he said. biz.yahoo.com

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