More news on vvus, check it out:
Heres the update that came out 20 minutes ago:
Vivus Gets Patent For Treatments For Female Sexual Dysfunction
Dow Jones Online News, Monday, March 08, 1999 at 13:59
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -(Dow Jones)- Investors cheered Vivus Inc.
Monday after the company, nearly decimated last year by the popularity
of Viagra, said it has received a patent related to treatments for
sexual dysfunction in women.
In afternoon trading, shares of Vivus (VVUS) were up $1.781, or 81%,
at $3.813 on volume of 6.4 million. The stock had touched as high as
$4.563 earlier in the day.
Vivus said the patent applies to the commercialization of topical
agents and steroids to treat a number of sexual dysfunctions affecting
women. The company said the possibilities include treatments for women
with arousal and orgasm dysfunction, the enhancement of vaginal
lubrication and the improvement of vaginal muscle tone.
The patent is important for the company, as the introduction of
Pfizer's (PFE) Viagra last spring hurt sales of Vivus's Muse treatment
for male erectile dysfunction, or impotence. At one point last year,
Vivus said it was considering strategic alternatives, including a sale
of the company.
The Muse system consists of a plastic applicator that allows a
suppository of the generic drug alprostadil to be inserted directly into
the urethra. Vivus touted Muse as a safer alternative to Viagra, which
shouldn't be used by men with heart trouble. But Viagra, a pill taken an
hour or so before sex, proved more popular because of its ease of use.
Clinical trials are currently under way studying Viagra's effects in
women. The first preliminary study, published in the March issue of the
medical journal Urology, found that the drug had no significant effect
in 33 postmenopausal women.
Copyright (c) 1999 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
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