Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Biotech / Medical : ICOS Corporation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Icebrg who wrote (1030)	2/8/2004 10:41:14 PM
From: Biomaven	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1139

NY Times Sunday magazine February 8, 2004 CONSUMED Cialis By ROB WALKER Believe it or not, erectile dysfunction used to be a taboo topic. Now it is so thoroughly a part of public discourse that it's possible to hold water-cooler debates over the Super Bowl ads of competing impotence treatments. This is the environment in which Cialis, a Viagra competitor and a joint venture of Eli Lilly and Icos, made its debut in the United States. While new here -- it was approved for use in November, and advertising to consumers began in January -- Cialis has been on the market for about a year in Europe, and it's worth taking seriously because in that short time it has captured 16 to 35 percent of the major markets there. That early success may be either a result of scrupulous positioning by its makers and marketers or of vaguely salacious positioning by the media and the marketplace itself. Or both. The selling point of Cialis (pronounced see-AL-us) is that it stays in the bloodstream longer. According to the company, in fact, its effects last 36 hours, which would be about six or seven times longer than Viagra and Levitra. (As with any prescription drug, there are a lot of caveats about who should be taking what and how individual results may vary; as the saying goes, ask your doctor.) It's a matter of coincidence that the Federal Drug Administration approved Cialis just in time for the run-up to Valentine's Day: the drug, its marketers say, is all about romance. Instead of tough sports stars or anything echoing Levitra's ad of a man hurling a football through a tire swing, the first set of 15-second ''awareness'' TV spots for Cialis features slow, jazzy guitar music on the soundtrack. A middle-aged man and woman sit side by side in outdoor bathtubs, facing a smoldering sunset. The tag line: ''Are you ready?'' The winking nature of that line notwithstanding, the idea is to link the drug to committed couples, according to Matt Beebe, brand manager of Lilly Icos. After all, he says, the average man who uses an erectile dysfunction product is 55 and in a monogamous long-term relationship. Consumer research found that such men and their partners were stressed out about planning for a drug that lasts five or six hours and were attracted to the flexibility of a 36-hour time frame. So the couple-focused campaign, Beebe says, ''is all about this relaxing moment -- it could be a funny moment, a silly moment. Any moment in a couple's time together could turn into the right moment.'' In Europe, regulations rule out the marketing of drugs directly to consumers by way of ads. So Lilly Icos has sponsored radio talk shows about men's health issues, as well as a Feb. 7 concert for an audience of about 150 couples, featuring the tenor Jose Carreras and Blondie's Debbie Harry performing duets. But the drug has also relied on publicity and word of mouth in those strictly regulated markets, and because of its 36-hour duration, it has received a lot of each. Most notable is its unofficial nickname: the weekender or, even better, le weekender. This calls to mind not a monogamous long-term relationship but rather a macho swinger or a movie on an adult pay-per-view channel menu. And while Cialis's American marketers may not openly embrace that term, they are not exactly running from it. On one hand, they emphasize that E.D. is a ''devastating disease,'' that treatments for it are not mere ''lifestyle drugs'' and that talk of ''recreational'' use trivializes a serious issue. On the other hand, Newsweek recently reported that Lilly Icos has sent press kits to late-night talk-show hosts and that its public relations team is meeting with sitcom writers. Egging on professional makers of off-color remarks would seem to work against the dignity of the official Cialis story. But the European lesson of le weekender is that while a good, memorable and somewhat leering nickname might not be the best thing to use in an ad, it doesn't exactly hurt in the real world. Beebe says the nickname originated in a French media report; it so happens that Cialis has 35 percent of the erectile dysfunction market in France -- its biggest share in any country in Europe. So if a strategy of public dignity and whispered innuendo might help Cialis get a similar chunk of the significantly larger U.S. market, well, que sera, sera.

To: Icebrg who wrote (1030)	3/24/2004 6:00:48 AM
From: Icebrg	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1139

Cialis sales skyrocket By Eric Fetters Herald Writer BOTHELL -- Cialis, the locally developed rival drug to Viagra, has become the fastest-growing erectile dysfunction treatment in the U.S. market. Figures released Tuesday by Cialis' developers, ICOS Corp. of Bothell and Eli Lilly & Co., show Cialis captured 18 percent of new prescriptions, compared with about 15 percent for Levitra for the week ending March 12. Cialis was introduced in this country four months ago, while Levitra came on the market in August. "I can't imagine anyone would be less than pleased with the numbers," said Paul Latta, an analyst who tracks ICOS at McAdams Wright Ragen in Seattle. ICOS executives said they were encouraged by the early success. "It did happen significantly faster than we expected," said Leonard Blum, ICOS senior vice president for sales and marketing. "If you look at the rate of uptake for new drugs in our industry, Cialis is one of the most successful launches ever." Cialis is nibbling into the market share held by Viagra, although that well-known drug still dominates the sector. While Cialis leads Levitra in new prescriptions, Levitra is slightly ahead in overall market share, with 10.5 percent compared with 9.7 percent for Cialis. Viagra still holds nearly 80 percent of the total prescriptions in the erectile dysfunction market. Overseas, Cialis' share of the market is up to 40 percent in Australia, according to data from IMS Health. The drug's market share is just under 30 percent in Germany and Italy, and 25 percent in Brazil. ICOS pointed to a recently published study sponsored by Lilly and ICOS that showed 73 percent of men who were given both Cialis and Viagra preferred Cialis. Preliminary results of an independent study in Europe that included all three competing drugs found 44 percent preferred Cialis compared with 32 percent for Levitra and 14 percent for Viagra. "This is a very strong demonstration that men prefer Cialis and their experiences on the drug," Blum said. While all three of the leading drugs work similarly in the body, Cialis has touted the fact it can work up to 36 hours after the pill is taken. Cialis' growing market share hasn't come without a cost. ICOS and Lilly will spend millions of dollars this year on TV commercials and the sponsorship of professional golf tournaments. In Europe, where direct-to-consumer TV ads are not allowed, Cialis has sponsored music concerts. Blum said ICOS and Lilly will continue the ads and sponsorship, as well as some new marketing activities, to build awareness of Cialis. "We're going to keep developing new things in order to reach a broader group of men," he said. "We have new initiatives in development to keep it fresh and spontaneous." Levitra, sold by Bayer AG and GlaxoSmithKline, also has been aggressive in its marketing campaign. The drug is an official sponsor of the National Football League, and Mike Ditka, a former NFL player and coach, is Levitra's spokesman. Pfizer, the maker of Viagra, is tuning up a new ad campaign as well. At Marysville Family Medicine, Dr. Harold Clark said the vast majority of patients who ask about treatment for impotence specifically mention Viagra. But he added that more patients seem to have heard of Cialis than Levitra, despite its prominent ads. Latta said if Cialis continues to gain new patients at the rate seen in recent months, the drug should hold 20 percent of the erectile dysfunction drug market well before the end of this year. But it will take longer than that to determine if the drug will be a true blockbuster like Viagra, which recorded sales of close to $2 billion last year. "If you look over the next two to three years, then you'll find out who the winner is," he said. heraldnet.com