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Biotech / Medical : VVUS: VIVUS INC. (NASDAQ) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RT who wrote (5910)	3/16/1998 5:46:00 PM
From: OmertaSoldier	Respond to of 23519

FYI....To All Monday March 16, 4:28 pm Eastern Time Pfizer up on hopes of Viagra, Zeldox okays NEW YORK, March 16 (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc shares rose Monday amid expectations the company will get U.S. marketing approvals this month for two drugs: Viagra for male erectile dysfunction and Zeldox for schizophrenia, analyts said. Shares were up 1-15/16 to 87-15/16 in afternoon trading. ''It looks like people are anticipating approval for Viagra,'' said Merrill Lynch [AMEX:OPG - news] analyst Stephen Buermann, who added he knew of no specific news helping Pfizer on Monday. Pfizer submitted a new drug application for Viagra (sildenafil) on September 29, 1997 with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and was granted an expedited six-month review. The agency is obliged to decide by March 29, the six-month mark since the application was submitted, whether to approve Viagra -- a drug which some analysts have predicted will become one of the best-selling drugs in history. Pfizer submitted its new drug application for Zeldox (ziprasidone) in March 1997 and received a normal one-year review. It is expected to receive the FDA's verdict on the compound later this month. Hambrecht & Quist analyst Alex Zisson said he also believed optimism about likely FDA approvals for the drugs was boosting Pfizer, whose year-to-date valuation has jumped 18 percent. That compares with a 16 percent jump in the American Stock Exchange Pharmaceutical Index, a grouping of two dozen large-capitalization U.S. and British drugmakers. ''Viagra is perhaps the biggest wild card in the history of the pharmaceutical industry. The potential is enormous,'' said Zisson, who noted some analysts have predicted eventual annual sales of $5 billion or more. The top selling drugs in history have been in the $2 billion to $3 billion range including Glaxo/Wellcome's (GLX - news) Zantac, and AB Astra's (ASTRa.ST) Losec, an ulcer drug sold in the U.S. as Prilosec in a joint venture with New Jersey's Merck & Co (MRK - news). But Zisson said it was too early to predict sales because detailed clinical data about the pill have not been published, although the data are expected to be presented late May at the American Urological Association annual meeting in San Diego. Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette analyst Kent Blair last week said hopes for Viagra were overblown. He predicted worldwide sales of only $900 million by the year 2000. ''Viagra will probably have a rapid uptake as many of the men with male erectile dysfunction are aware of the product. Once that initial burst of enthusiasm wanes, however, we believe that Pfizer's stock price could suffer,'' Blair said, adding few people below age 30 would likely need the drug. Zisson said Zeldox could have annual sales of $200 million to $500 million within three years. He added it would compete with Eli Lilly and Co.'s (LLY - news) blockbuster drug Zyprexa (olanzapine), which was launched in late 1996 and garnered 1997 worldwide sales of $730 million. Zeldox will also compete with Zeneca Group Plc's (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: ZEN.L) Seroquel (quetiapine), which received U.S. marketing approval in September 1997. All three drugs work by stimulating activity of dopamine, one of the most important neurotransmitters -- or brain messenger chemicals. Zisson said they have fewer side effects than older schizophrenia drugs which cause problems ranging from uncontrollable muscle movements to total rigidity and difficulty in swallowing. Schizophrenia is a chronic disorder affecting an estimated 3 million Americans -- one in every 100 people at some time in their lives. Its symptoms include delusions, hallucinations and emotional withdrawal. Data last year from a late-stage trial of Zeldox showed that six percent of patients taking the drug for over six months relapsed, compared with 35 percent of those taking dummy pills. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>. Now who here thinks Viagra will out sell Zantac? I think not IMO, but I hope it can do better than 900 million by 2000. I guess this is a "wild card". Place you bets to the left please.... RR

To: RT who wrote (5910)	3/16/1998 6:48:00 PM
From: Edderd	Respond to of 23519

RT While I would like to see more PR from Vivus I think you are totally unfair. Viagra is on the lips of men and women because it is the ORAL (repeat after me ORAL) solution to impotence which society has been seeking for thousands of years. It would be far more surprising if there was no news about an oral medication that enhances erections and consequently sexual enjoyment. The media know how hot a topic this is and they will not let it alone. When you combine a media frenzy with ego mania by researchers there is no end to the number of Tarzans you can produce. I wouldn't give PFE too much credit for all this but you can bet they are loving it. Not exactly fair to Vivus who has stood it's ground and will let the facts tell the story in the long run. It would be nice to hear something positive in the near future tho. ed