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

To: Cosmo Daisey who wrote (1294)	4/20/1998 2:44:00 PM
From: LWolf	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 9523

ALL: Reuters:(PFE)-Viagra official sales in 1st week huge - analysts By Ransdell Pierson NEW YORK, April 20 (Reuters) - An astounding 36,263 new prescriptions were written for Pfizer Inc.'s <PFE.N> impotence drug Viagra during its first week on the market, analysts said, quoting sales data from auditing service IMS America. The new IMS prescription data, which far exceed usual first-week sales of new drugs, helped bolster up Pfizer shares 7-1/4 to 112-3/8 in morning trade. The gains come on the heels of a 4-1/2 point Pfizer advance seen Friday on expectation of huge Viagra sales for the week ending April 10. "This is the largest first week launch in history," said PaineWebber analyst Jeffrey Chaffkin, citing the IMS figures which the sales auditing firm provided analysts before scheduled release to the media later Monday. By comparison, Chaffkin said in a research report that sales of Warner-Lambert Co.'s <WLA.N> blockbuster anti-cholesterol drug Lipitor did not reach a comparable level of new prescriptions until its eighth week on the market. Merrill Lynch analyst Steven Tighe said even the most successful new drugs typically start out only between 1,100 and 3,500 new prescriptions during their first week of sales. "This is a completely different order of magnitude. It looks unprecedented," Tighe told Reuters, referring to Viagra's initial sales. Tighe said the sales figures were even more impressive than first glance because the week included the Good Friday religious holiday and fewer prescriptions are usually written on holidays. Tighe said he had not yet changed his earlier estimate that Viagra would have 1998 revenues of $350 million, but said the projection could easily be increased if Viagra sales move higher in coming weeks. Chaffkin said he believed Viagra would have 1998 sales of $600 million. "But it's hard to get a handle on how they will turn out," he said, adding that because it is the first pill for impotence there is no history of similar drugs to help predict how many people will seek such a therapy. "People are a little shocked how well Viagra is doing and that Pfizer's stock has gone up 10 percent in just two trading days," said Mehta Partners analyst Steve Lisi. Although Lisi said he believed Pfizer's valuation might be "a fair price" given potential sales for Viagra, he added investors would be well advised to exercise caution in bidding shares higher on euphoria for one drug. Hemant Shah, an independent New Jersey drug analyst, said Viagra during its first 11 days on the market was selling at an annual rate of between $500 million and $1 billion. But he cautioned the high initial sales might suggest pent-up demand, adding "the rate of use may decline after several months." On the other hand, Shah said sales could expand substantially over current rates because Pfizer had not yet begun commercial promotion of the impotence drug. ((New York Newsdesk, 212 859-1736)) REUTERS 13:57 04-20-98 ************************* laura