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Biotech / Medical : Sepracor-Looks very promising -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: scaram(o)uche who wrote (3623)	8/20/1999 12:15:00 PM
From: Biomaven	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10280

Rick, Yes I got them mixed up. Lansoprazole (Prevacid) as you pointed out is already marketed - it's Pantoprazole that's awaiting approval. These are the two where SEPR has the ICE patents. In practice, they all seem to work about the same, although omeprazole more often seems to do a shade better. Although originally these drugs were approved for treating ulcers, this is now mostly a "one-time" treatment. The big bucks come from treating reflux, which is a chronic condition requiring treatment forever. They work better than cisapride, but maybe norcisapride will provide stiffer competition. They were originally approved only for short-term use because of cancer concerns in rats, but they actually seem remarkably safe as far as anyone knows. From SEPR's viewpoint, these still have distant patent expirations - the real issue is whether Prevacid etc. will need SEPR's ICE to compete with the ICE for omeprazole that is much closer in. If so, this will force Prevacid II in short order. Peter