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

To: Nick who wrote (1523)	4/23/1998 2:36:00 PM
From: esterina	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 9523

RESEARCH ALERT - Vivus raised Reuters Story - April 23, 1998 13:48 %US %RES %HOT %DRU VVUS PFE V%REUTER P%RTR Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Jump to first matched term LOS ANGELES, April 23 (Reuters) - Cruttenden Roth Thursday raised its rating on Vivus Inc to strong buy from neutral and set a 1998 price target on the stock of $23 a share. --said believes Pfizer Inc's anti-impotence drug Viagra has safety and efficacy issues which will limit the patient base the product can treat. --said Vivus will be well positioned to take advantage of erectile dysfunction patients who Viagra may not be able to treat successfully. --estimated that Viagra may only be effective in 50 percent of erectile dysfunction patients and that those you find it ineffective may turn to Vivus' MUSE treatment for impotence. --said Vivus' new production facility, expected to come online in mid-1998, will allow it to reap rewards from Pfizer's marketing campaign which will likely increase the number of men seeking drugs for erectile dysfunction.

To: Nick who wrote (1523)	4/23/1998 4:20:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9523

The arthritis drug Celebra is going to be another potential blockbuster drug; see the following DJ article: Monsanto Overcomes Slow Roundup Sales In First Quarter April 23, 1998 2:30 PM By Desiree Hanford ST. LOUIS (Dow Jones)--Though wet weather held down sales of its Roundup herbicide, analysts said, Monsanto Co. (MTC) still managed to edge out Wall Street's first-quarter earnings expectations. Monsanto Thursday reported net earnings of 32 cents a diluted share, just beating First Call Corp.'s average estimate of 31 cents, though falling short of the year-earlier 34 cents. "They did overcome Roundup sales because of the weather, so they had pretty good performance given that weakness and its contribution to the bottom line," said Bill Fiala, an analyst with Edward Jones. Fiala cites better-than-expected sales of Roundup Ready seeds as one reason Roundup herbicide sales didn't affect earnings as much as they could have. He said the company expects to sell 25 million acres worth of Roundup Ready soybean seed this year, 20% more than expected and nearly three times last year's 9 million. And the wet weather that has hurt sales of the herbicide so far this year could actually boost sales later, when all those well-soaked weed seeds germinate. "They (farmers) should get a bumper crop of weeds in the second and third quarters, so there will be a greater need for Roundup going forward," said Christopher Willis, an analyst with Schroder & Co. Nick Filippello, chief economist for Monsanto, said that two factors - sales of Roundup for use on Roundup Ready crops and strong sales in the Southern Hemisphere - have pushed Roundup's peak selling period from March and April into June and July. "It's used both earlier and later on the plant, which means sales are occurring for a longer time," he said. Celebra Expected To Boost Earnings In 1999 Fiala said that a $100 million payment from Pfizer Inc. (PFE) to Monsanto - part of a co-promotion agreement for the arthritis drug Celebra - helped first-quarter earnings. Celebra, being developed by Searle, Monsanto's pharmaceutical business, is in Phase 3 of development. Monsanto expects to file a new drug application with the Food and Drug Administration by mid-summer. Analysts say that Celebra will have a big impact on Monsanto's earnings next year. "We expect Celebra to be a big product," said Willis. "It will have a substantial positive impact on earnings in 1999 and going forward." Fiala agreed. "It comes down to how quickly they can get the drug approved and how quickly sales can ramp up, with both being difficult to predict," he said. Monsanto, which had five products in Phase 3 in 1997, expects to have five more move into that stage this year, Filippello said. The company will continue to invest in its growth-oriented programs, he said, which includes bringing such new products as Celebra to market. In fact, Searle is expanding its sales force in anticipation of Celebra and other coming drugs. "Searle is really going through a mode where it requires a lot of spending to get products through trials and into the marketplace," Filippello said. "People understand that and that it will have an impact on earnings." Analysts said the company is spending its money wisely. "They could be earning a lot more but it's clearly a good investment because it's good for growth," said Fiala. Shares of Monsanto were recently trading at 55 1/2, up 7/8, or 1.6%, on NYSE volume of 1.2 million; the daily average is 1.7 million. -Desiree Hanford; 201-938-2127; Desiree.Hanford@cor.dowjones.com