Merck gets FDA OK for painkiller
By Stephanie O'Brien, CBS MarketWatch
Last Update: 9:50 AM ET May 21, 1999
WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. (CBS.MW) -- Merck & Co., the world's
second-largest drugmaker, said the U.S. Food & Drug Administration
approved the sale of its painkiller Vioxx.
The drug was approved to treat osteoarthritis, the
most common form of arthritis, acute pain and
severe menstrual pain.
Vioxx is sure to be a formidable competitor to hugely
successful Celebrex, a COX-2 inhibitor
manufactured and marketed by Monsanto Co.'s
(MTC: news, msgs) G.D. Searle unit and Pfizer
(PFE: news, msgs).
Celebrex is approved for rheumatoid arthritis and
osteoarthritis.
Merck said Vioxx will be available for sale by the
middle of June. The company expects its retail price
per tablet to range from about $2.38 to $2.52. The wholesale price per liquid
dose is expected to be about $3.00.
Last month, the drug received backing from an FDA advisory panel, which
voted to approve Vioxx for the treatment of arthritis and for acute pain.
The drug, from a class of medications known as COX-2 inhibitors, is aimed
primarily at treating arthritis, but treats other types of pain with fewer side
effects, such as ulcers and internal bleeding. Vioxx is an alternative to
prescription forms of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
Examples of those are naproxen, which is sold over-the-counter as Aleve,
and ibuprofen, sold over-the-counter as Advil.
"Vioxx got the three indications the (FDA) panel had endorsed," said Alex
Zisson, an analyst at Hambrecht & Quist. "It's a label that Merck sales reps
can do some damage with," he said.
Zisson estimates that 1999 sales of Vioxx will be about $300 million. He
expects sales to nearly triple to $800 million by the end of 2000.
Shares of Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Merck, the No.1 drug maker in
the U.S, rose 1 1/4 to 73 1/2 in Instinet trading before the market opened
Friday morning.
Still, one analyst said Vioxx might have trouble overtaking Celebrex.
"The market is not as dissatisfied as it was when Celebrex was launched,"
since arthritis sufferers had relatively few options, said James Keeney, an
analyst at ABN Amro.
About 2.5 million people are currently taking Celebrex, Keeney said. If it's
working for them, they may not be inclined to switch, he said.
Still, Celebrex lost some ground recently, following press reports that a
small number of people taking the drug suffered from ulcers or died.
Merck, the No.1 drugmaker in the U.S., shares worldwide dominance with
Glaxo-Wellcome PLC in prescription drugs.
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