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To: SIMember0123456789 who wrote (2199)	10/22/1997 11:19:00 PM
From: Jeffrey L. Henken	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3431

I think the market reaction was penciled in in the last few minutes of trading. The stock should rise tomorrow. In fact if it gets some positive remarks from analysts in the next few days it will continue upward for a while. Yes we are concerned about future earnings with a book to bill below 1. But as I said before this was a much better earnings report than I expected. Personally I am glad that I am not sitting on any puts. But with any option time is as important as price. Is it not? Through the ceiling? No way. Up, oh yeah. Regards, Jeff

To: SIMember0123456789 who wrote (2199)	10/23/1997 5:55:00 AM
From: Linda Kaplan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3431

Headline: (UPDATE) Shares Of Vivus Drop After CS Boston Issues Downgrade ====================================================================== NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Shares of medical device company Vivus Inc. dropped Wednesday after a downgrade from CS First Boston. The downgrade comes a day after drug company Pfizer Inc. said its impotence drug, the first oral treatment for the condition, would get a speedy review at the Food and Drug Administration. Vivus, based in Menlo Park, Calif., makes a male impotence product called MUSE. The product combines an easy-to-use plastic applicator that inserts the generic drug alprostadil, an already proven medication. The product has advantages over painful injections or implants. But Pfizer has touted its drug, Viagra, as a "breakthrough" and said it helped improve erections in roughly 80% of those who tried it, according to assessments from both patients and their partners, the company has said. At the close, shares of Vivus (VVUS) were down $3.938, or 12%, at $28.563 on volume of 5 million. Average daily volume is 1.2 million. CS First Boston lowered its investment rating on Vivus to "hold" from "buy." No details were available regarding the downgrade. Despite the competition, Dain Bosworth's Parice Halbert told Wednesday's Wall Street Journal California edition that she isn't overly concerned. She said history shows that drug introductions by major pharmaceutical houses usually expand the market due to the increase in overall awareness spurred by their massive marketing. What's more, she added, MUSE has an advantage in that it is absorbed directly by body tissue as opposed to being swallowed and having to work through the digestive system. That approach, she says, has already proved effective even with severe cases of impotence. One bull even foresees Vivus soaring nearly fourfold from its current stock price of around $32.50 by the end of 1998. Other analysts, while more cautious, still think the stock will increase about 38% in the next 12 months. MUSE already has momentum to build on. Since its introduction nine months ago, sales have streaked to more than $100 million. Urologists, other medical specialists and patients are starting to "flock to the MUSE solution," said Halbert, who rates the stock a "strong buy." Her 12-month price target is $45. Moreover, the company is weeks away from making its first big marketing push. The company is launching a consumer-awareness campaign about impotence, co-sponsored by the American Foundation for Urologic Disease. The series of radio, television and print ads, slated to begin next month, will feature TV star Gavin MacLeod as the spokesman. About 15 million Americans are estimated to have the condition. Vivus has plans to take MUSE beyond the U.S. The company said it is in talks to open a new MUSE factory in Ireland. And analysts said Vivus is on the verge of getting approval for the treatment from British regulators. Vivus has already lined up agreements with Astra of Sweden to sell MUSE throughout Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Central and South America. Janssen Pharmaceutica International of Switzerland, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, will market the product in China, the Pacific Rim (except Japan), Canada and Mexico. Copyright (c) 1997 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ------------------- Try The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition at wsj.com for concise company briefing books and detailed stock quotes.