Japan Says Man Died After Taking Pfizer's Viagra (Update1)
Bloomberg News
July 15, 1998, 7:08 a.m. ET
Japan Says Man Died After Taking Pfizer's Viagra (Update1)
(Adds Pfizer profit in penultimate paragraph. )
Tokyo, July 15 (Bloomberg) -- A Japanese man in his 60s died
earlier this month after taking Viagra, the anti-impotence drug
sold by Pfizer Inc., the Japanese Ministry of Heath and Welfare
said.
The man, who was taking nitroglycerin for high-blood
pressure and diabetes, took one tablet of Viagra, which he
obtained from a friend. The man had sexual intercourse and died
three and a half hours after taking the drug, the ministry said.
The Japanese ministry said it hasn't determined if there's a
link between the man's death and the drug. Pfizer says Viagra is
safe if taken as instructed. Men taking nitrate heart drugs,
though, shouldn't take Viagra because of possible adverse
reactions.
In Japan, the sale of Viagra isn't authorized. Consumers are
allowed to import the drug for individual use. Another ministry
official said men purchase the drug through Internet. The
ministry doesn't know how many Viagra pills are brought into
Japan, the official said.
New York-based Pfizer said last week its second-quarter
profit rose 38 percent, to $628 million, as the second-largest
U.S. drugmaker introduced Viagra to unprecedented demand.
Pfizer fell 3/16 to 51 ª in the U.S.
--Junko Fujita in the Tokyo newsroom (813) 3201-8211/re /rdm |
