02/10 03:33 Monsanto's Celebrex is No. 2 in prescriptions -WSJ
NEW YORK, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Monsanto Co.'s <MTC.N> arthritis pain drug Celebrex generated prescriptions in its third week on the market at more than six times those of cholesterol drug Lipitor at a comparable stage, the Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday.
Celebrex produced 82,000 prescriptions in the week ended Sunday, making it the second-fastest start for a new drug in recent years, surpassing Lipitor, which had 13,100 prescriptions written in its third week in 1997, according to a report by pharmaceutical information provider NDC Health Information Services, the paper said.
Lipitor, which is co-marketed by Warner-Lambert Co. <WLA.N> and Pfizer Inc. <PFE.N>, is expected to generate $3.1 billion in sales this year, the paper said.
Celebrex's sales are exceeded only by those of Pfizer impotence drug
Viagra, which sold 224,100 prescriptions in its third week, the paper said.
Pfizer is also co-marketing Celebrex with Monsanto.
Monsanto shares fell 11/16 to 45-1/8 and Pfizer shares fell 6-1/8, to 125-1/4 in New York Stock Exchange trade Tuesday, a day the Dow Jones
Industrials lost 1.70 percent falling 158.08 to 9133.03.
((--New York Newsdesk (212) 859-1700))
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