Monsanto's Celebrex Prescriptions Reach 55,000 a Week in Jan.
St. Louis, Feb. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Monsanto Co.'s new arthritis drug Celebrex had 55,000 prescriptions filled in the week ended Jan. 31, according to NDC Health Information Services, putting the painkiller on target to become a blockbuster.
The first of a new class of painkillers that appear to have fewer side effects than existing drugs, Celebrex had about 10,000 prescriptions for the week ending Jan. 24, NDC said. In contrast, Warner-Lambert Co.'s cholesterol reducer Lipitor had less than 12,000 prescriptions in its second week on the market, NDC said.
Lipitor was considered the most successful drug introduction before Pfizer Inc. introduced the anti-impotence pill Viagra this year. Even with a wholesale cost of about $2.42 a day, Monsanto's Celebrex is finding many buyers. The drug represents one of the few advances in arthritis treatment in the past two decades, analysts have said.
''People have heard so much about it and there's huge demand,'' said Hemant Shah, an independent drug analyst.
Monsanto, based in St. Louis, rose 7/16 to 48. Monsanto sells Celebrex through a partnership with Pfizer, considered to be one of the drug industry's best marketers. Pfizer, based in New York, rose 4 1/2 to 133 1/8.
Celebrex and Vioxx, a drug developed by Merck & Co., are part of a class of drugs known as Cox-2 inhibitors, designed to offer the same benefits as current painkillers with fewer side effects such as bleeding and ulcers for people who take pain medication for chronic conditions such as arthritis.
Monsanto's Searle drug unit won U.S. approval on Dec. 31 to sell Celebrex for treating osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, putting it months ahead of Merck, the world's biggest drugmaker, in introducing the first of the new drugs. Analysts have said the Cox-2 drugs can achieve annual sales of as much as $5 billion.
The Cox-2 drugs will compete with painkillers sold by a range of companies, including SmithKline Beecham Plc, American Home Products Corp. and Roche Holding AG.
15:48:23 02/01/1999
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