Merck, Monsanto Drugs May Have Wide Range of Health Benefits
Bloomberg News
July 30, 1998, 6:31 p.m. ET
Merck, Monsanto Drugs May Have Wide Range of Health Benefits
Maui, Hawaii, July 30 (Bloomberg) -- Merck & Co.'s and
Monsanto Co.'s experimental painkiller drugs may have benefits
that extend to conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and cancer,
researchers said.
The drugs, known as Cox-2 inhibitors, work by interfering
with production of an enzyme, cyclooxygenase-2, linked to pain
and swelling. Cox-2 also plays a role in other diseases,
according to researchers at an industry-funded workshop.
''Cox-2 technology may have wide applications across a
broad spectrum of medical conditions,'' said Peter Lipsky,
director of the arthritis research center at University of Texas
Southwestern Medical Center, which sponsored the workshop.
Analysts are already saying the Cox-2 inhibitors have
multibillion dollar potential, based mainly on expected sales in
treating arthritis. Other uses for the drugs could help sales
skyrocket.
If it wins U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval,
Monsanto's version of the Cox-2 inhibitor will be sold by Pfizer
Inc., the maker of Viagra and a marketing powerhouse. The two
will compete against Whitehouse Station, New Jersey-based Merck,
the biggest U.S. drugmaker.
Unlike existing painkillers, a Cox-2 inhibitor doesn't
suppress a related enzyme, Cox-1, that triggers production of the
stomach's natural protective lining. That could reduce the side
gastrointestinal effects existing painkillers cause.
Previous studies have shown the Cox-2 drugs have relatively
few side effects and help relieve the pain of arthritis. Now,
preliminary studies promise other benefits.
One group of researchers out of Mt. Sinai Medical Center in
New York found that patients with Alzheimer's have high levels of
Cox-2 in their brains, suggesting a drug that blocks the enzyme
could fight the disease. Other studies found excess Cox-2 in the
brain during strokes and in the tumors of cancer patients.
Studies in mice and rats also suggest benefits for the
drugs, according to researchers who presented their findings
today at the Cox-2 meeting in Maui, Hawaii. The meeting was
funded in part by grants from Merck, Monsanto's G.D. Searle & Co.
unit, Roche Bioscience and the R.W. Johnson Pharmaceutical
Research Institute.
Analysts expect Searle to file for FDA approval of its Cox-2
inhibitor soon, followed in a few months by Merck.
--Kristin Jensen in the Washington newsroom (202) 624-1843
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