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Vivus <VVUS.O> hires CS First Boston, cites Viagra
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Aug 25 (Reuters) - Anti-impotence drug maker Vivus Inc., said Tuesday it was considering strategic alternatives including selling the company after harsh competition from Pfizer's <PFE.N> Viagra.
Vivus said in a statement it had retained investment bankers Credit Suisse First Boston Corp. Options include a sale of the company, entering into sales and marketing collaborations or partnerships, or other transactions, the company said.
"Vivus' managers and board of directors are reviewing alternatives that could enhance shareholder value," said Leland Wilon, president and chief executive of the company, in the statement.
The company, which sells a treatment for impotence known as MUSE, posted a loss in the second quarter of $0.76 a diluted share. That was larger than its reported loss of $0.28 a diluted share for the second quarter of 1997.
Vivus' MUSE is a treatment that involves placing a pellet in the tip of the penis in order to battle erectile dysfunction, or impotence, as compared to Viagra, which is taken orally.
Vivus said on July 8 said it was seeking a partner, a major drug company, to help it compete with the phenonmenal success of Viagra, a record-selling anti-impotence drug made by Pfizer Inc <PFE.N> and introduced in March.
The company reported then that prescriptions for MUSE had dropped to 5,000 a week, compared to 15,000 before Viagra came onto the market. More than 2 million prescriptions were written for Viagra since its launch in March.
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