02/22 17:20 Searle launches campaign as Celebrex continues run
CHICAGO, Feb 22 (Reuters) - G.D. Searle's arthritis pain drug
Celebrex was officially launched on Monday, but it had already
established itself as one of the most-prescribed new drugs, second
only to Viagra, the male anti-impotence pill. According to NDC Health
Information Services, which tracks the data, the drug generated more
than 119,000 prescriptions in the six days ending with Feb. 18, one
day short of the end of its fifth week on the market.
So far, prescriptions for Celebrex are second only to Pfizer Inc.'s
<PFE.N> blockbuster anti-impotence drug, Viagra. Searle is
co-marketing Celebrex with Pfizer.
Shares of Monsanto Co. <MTC.N>, Searle's parent company, rose
2-8/16 to 48-1/16, and shares of Pfizer jumped 5-3/16 to 133-1/2.
Celebrex is the first of a new class of drugs called Cox-2 inhibitors to
be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It was
developed to treat pain and arthritis without causing the serious
gastrointestinal side effects often experienced with drugs such as
aspirin and ibuprofen.
Cox-2 drugs inhibit the Cox-2 enzyme that triggers pain, but not the
Cox-1 enzyme that protects the lining of the stomach.
Searle has said more than 107,000 Americans are hospitalized each
year for stomach ulcers and other complications and as many as
16,500 of them die.
Hemant Shah, an independent healthcare industry analyst, said U.S.
sales of Celebrex will almost certainly surpass $1 billion in 1999.
"Celebrex has had a stunning performance, even before the drug was
launched," Shah said. "It's well behind Viagra so far, but two months
down the road it will surpass Viagra without a doubt."
Shah said over the weekend, Celebrex accounted for nearly 16
percent of new prescriptions dispensed for the treatment of arthritis.
"That's an unbelievable performance," Shah said.
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