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

To: Rob L. who wrote (668)	3/27/1998 7:21:00 AM
From: John Carragher	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1580

Dow Jones Newswires -- March 26, 1998 New Uses For Merck's Proscar Not Seen Boosting Sales By Otesa Middleton WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Although the U.S. Food & Drug Administration approved new uses for Merck & Co.'s (MRK) prostate drug, Proscar, sales aren't expected to soar. Last Friday, the agency backed the drug for use in reducing the need for prostate surgery and the risk of developing acute urinary retention as a result of benign prostatic hyperplasia, a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate gland. Merck announced the approval Thursday. More than half of men age 60 and older have benign prostatic hyperplasia. The company said Proscar is the first and only medication approved for these conditions. Proscar, which hit the market in 1992, was first approved for urinary symptoms associated with prostate enlargement. Mariola Haggar, who follows Merck for Deutsche Morgan Grenfell Inc., said the drug's sales slumped. "Proscar has not been growing very well," Haggar said. "The additional label expansions should be helpful in marketing the drug, but it has been a tough market to crack." She said the additional clearances will help the drug, but only slightly. "This is a mild positive," Haggar said. Haggar said Proscar's 1997 sales were $401 million, down 11% from 1996's sales of $450 million. "For 1998, we are expecting slight growth because of the additional indications and positive clinical data," she said. "We are expecting low single digit growth." Haggar said other Merck drugs in the pipeline are more important to the company's bottom line, including: asthma drug Singulair, Maxalt for migraines, heart drug Aggrastat and Cox-2 for arthritis. Christopher Allman, a spokesman for Merck, said the drug is now being tested in two trials. In a 10-year study, The National Cancer Institute is trying to determine if Proscar will prevent prostate cancer. Results of that study will be available in 2003, Allman said. Another five-year study is looking at whether Proscar, alone or in combination with Pfizer Inc.'s (PFE) drug Cardura, affects the need for prostate surgery. -Otesa Middleton; 202-862-6654 Powered by Quote Agentr and News Agentr from Gari Software/IDD Information Services Copyright c 1998 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.