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

To: Jim Lamb who wrote (2603)	5/19/1998 2:19:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9523

Pfizer expresses concern over local industry's interest in Viagra molecule Tuesday, May 19, 1998 Our Infrastructure Bureau Mumbai, May 18: The United States multinational Pfizer, the patent holder for block-bluster anti-impotency drug, Viagra, on Monday expressed concern over Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceutical's plans to manufacture sildenafil citrate in the country. Sildenafil Citrate is the bulk active of Viagra. While Orchid has sought the permission of the Drug Controller of India to make sildenafil citrate, Pfizer's official spokesperson said his company may even explore the option of holding discussions with the government on the possible fall-out of approving such a move. Pfizer maintained that the particular physical molecule is not difficult to synthesise, and added that it possessed the sum of cumulative experiences with Viagra. Viagra was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in March this year for the treatment of male-erectile dysfunction. Pfizer has also questioned the logic of simply granting approvals, which are probably not backed by detailed clinical trials, though the Chennai-based Orchid'sreaction to the multinational's contention could not be obtained.A Reuters report, however, quotes an Orchid spokesperson as saying that "the company has synthesised sildenafil citrate by a different process". Orchid, which plans to export its entire output, has apparently received enquiries for the product from many of its overseas customers. It has received export orders for 39 tonnes of the product from Madex Pharmaceuticals, Impex Quimica SA, Cranley Trading Services and Hukong & Company. Meanwhile, the Orchid scrip on Monday moved up 10 per cent on both the Bombay and National stock exchanges. The scrip was locked at Rs 99.15 and Rs 101.70 on the BSE and the NSE respectively. Marketmen attributed the upward movement of the scrip to the prospects of the company exporting sildenafil citrate to markets where the Viagra patent would not be infringed upon. Orchid, a 100 per cent export-oriented unit, is already renowned for its strength in the area of cephalosporins, the largest revenue segment of theanti-mocrobials market. Established in 1992, Orchid is the country's largest manufacturer of oral and sterile cephalosporins. It ranks among the top five in the world for key intermediate 7ADCA and oral cephalosporins based on it. The company's paid- up equity capital was Rs 17.34 crore for the year ended March 31, 1998, while the book value per share was Rs 81.85. Earnings per share stood at Rs 19.65.Significantly, experts say that sildenafil-citrate debate is likely to intensify in the months to come, with industry abuzz that more domestic pharma companies planning to jump in on the bandwagon. This, they say, is essentially owing to the immense revenue potential of Viagra, which is sold for $10 a tablet in the American market. Copyright c 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd. expressindia.com