Merck's Vioxx Seen Effective in Treating Menstrual, Dental Pain
Bloomberg News
March 18, 1999, 8:35 a.m. ET
Merck's Vioxx Seen Effective in Treating Menstrual, Dental Pain
Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, March 18 (Bloomberg) --
Merck & Co., the world's biggest drugmaker, said studies indicate
its experimental arthritis medicine Vioxx works well in treating
menstrual pain and pain caused by removal of wisdom teeth.
This research could help Merck in its efforts to catch up
with rival Monsanto Co. in the market for a new class of
potential blockbuster painkillers. Monsanto's new arthritis drug
Celebrex doesn't have these same indications. Merck's drug still
is under review at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Analysts expect annual sales of Celebrex and Vioxx to top
$1 billion quickly because these pills appear to treat pain and
inflammation without irritating the stomach like older medicines,
such as ibuprofen.
More than 600,000 prescriptions already have been filled for
Monsanto's drug, Celebrex, which was introduced in mid-January.
In studies presented today, Vioxx seemed to be comparable to
naproxen sodium, a commonly used painkiller, in treating
menstrual pain, Merck said. In dental pain, Vioxx was comparable
to ibuprofen, Merck said.
Merck, based in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, yesterday
fell 1 7/8 to 84. In the past 12 months, shares of the company
have risen 28 percent, boosted in part by prospects for Vioxx.
Merck will present its Vioxx research before an FDA panel on
April 20. Analysts and investors will be watching this meeting
closely to try to gauge how well Merck's application is received
by the FDA.
Monsanto had a setback when the FDA failed to designate
Celebrex as a new kind of drug. Instead, its label classes it as
similar to ibuprofen and other older painkillers, a class of
medicines known as ''non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or
NSAIDS.
NSAIDs work by interfering with an enzyme linked to pain and
swelling, cyclooxygenase-2. Unfortunately, these drugs also may
target a related enzyme, cyclooxygenase-1, that seems to help
protect the lining of the stomach from the acid it contains.
As a result, NSAIDs may cause more than 100,000
hospitalizations each year in the U.S. As many as 16,500 people
may die from these complications, by some estimates.
Like other NSAIDs, Celebrex carries a warning about the
possibility for harm to the gastrointestinal tract. Monsanto was
helped, though, by the FDA's decision to let the drugmaker add
information about studies that indicate Celebrex is less likely
to cause ulcers than some other NSAIDS.
Merck and Monsanto both intend to prove that their drugs
target more specifically cyclooxygenase-2 and thus spare the
stomach.
--Kerry Dooley in the Princeton newsroom (609) 279-4016/gfh
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