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Biotech / Medical : PFE (Pfizer) How high will it go? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Michael P. Michaud who wrote (809)	3/30/1998 2:48:00 PM
From: BigKNY3	Respond to of 9523

Highlights from today's article in the Wall Street Journal. Have PFun! BigKNY3 _______________________________________ Technology & Health: Pfizer's Impotence Pill Receives FDA Approval -With the approval last week of Pfizer Inc.'s impotence pill Viagra, a new medical era is expected to unfold for an estimated 20 million to 30 million men burdened with a debilitating problem few of them openly discuss. -Viagra's approval by the Food and Drug Administration will certainly encourage many untreated men to now seek out help for problems achieving and maintaining an erection satisfactory for sexual activity. Unlike existing impotence treatments that are painful or annoying, Viagra is being touted by Pfizer as a simple-to-use pill with few side effects that works about 70% of the time. -Indeed, securities analysts believe Viagra may become one of medicine's bestselling drugs ever, perhaps registering $2 billion to $3 billion or more in annual world-wide sales within a few years. Rumors of Viagra's impending release has caused Pfizer's stock to more than double over the past year, rising in the past two weeks alone by more than 10%. In New York Stock Exchange composite trading, Pfizer closed Friday at $95.75, up $1.375, in very active trading. -"It is absolutely a big deal, a breakthrough," says James Barada, a urologist who helped conduct human tests of Viagra at the Center for Male Sexual Health in Albany, N.Y. Dr. Barada and other specialists have been receiving a barrage of requests for the drug in recent months and expect that when the drug is available in a few weeks that many men will try it. The drug will be sold at wholesale for about $7 a pill, perhaps about $10 at retail. -Still, the marketing of such an unusual product is filled with potential pitfalls for Pfizer. Convincing many men to seek out treatment may take time, and there is no guarantee it will satisfy many couples' needs. "It looks like a good drug, but I'm always nervous when I see unanimous euphoria about a product," said analyst Steven Gerber of CIBC Oppenheimer. "The majority of men's health drugs have not met expectations because of men's reluctance to seek care for problems [like hair loss] that are a lot less embarrassing than impotence."