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

To: Laurens who wrote (2701)	5/22/1998 10:48:00 AM
From: ANSHU	Respond to of 9523

Nina Farzin, a pharmacist at a CVS Corp (CVS - news) drugstore in Manhattan, said her store charges $46.79 for five pills but was allowed to match any lower price. Farzin said many citizens of other countries have come into her store without prescriptions asking for Viagra, apparently wanting to take it back home. ''They want bottles -- not just a few tablets.''

To: Laurens who wrote (2701)	5/22/1998 11:01:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9523

FDA Warns of Viagra-Heart Drug Risk By Lauran Neergaard AP Medical Writer Friday, May 22, 1998; 2:22 a.m. EDT WASHINGTON (AP) -- The rush to embrace Viagra may be causing some men to overlook a major potential risk: The potency pill could pose serious problems for men who have to take heart medication such as nitroglycerine. The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday disclosed that it is investigating six deaths among Viagra users to see if the drug mix played any role. Also, paramedics in some cities have begun asking heart patients if they are using Viagra before emergency crews administer heart medication. The FDA has warned since approving Viagra in March that it is dangerous to take the impotence pill together with nitroglycerine or related heart drugs. A warning alluding to such a risk is on the label, but has not been widely publicized. It also is not known how many patients or doctors have paid attention to the warning. Viagra is wildly popular. Pfizer said Thursday nearly 1 million men have begun taking it since it hit the market. For now, ''FDA continues to believe the drug is safe and effective'' when used in the appropriate patients, said FDA spokeswoman Lorrie McHugh. But the agency has asked manufacturer Pfizer Inc. to provide additional safety information to consumers to make sure they use the drug properly. There were eight deaths among men who tested Viagra in the clinical trials that Pfizer conducted to win FDA approval and most of them had serious risks for heart disease. FDA reviewers noted at the time that there was no proof Viagra was to blame. But they wrote that the pill's mix with nitrate-containing heart drugs - typically used for chest pain - ''remains a safety concern.'' The same warning that is on the drug's label. Media stories largely have praised the pill; it has been sold over the Internet; and critics say it is being used not just by the medically impotent but by men hoping to improve sexual performance, and even by women. Paramedics on emergency squads in Boston and Richmond, Va., have started asking men suffering chest pains if they have taken Viagra, so the paramedics do not inadvertently give nitroglycerin to the wrong patients. Some officials fear many men will be hesitant to admit they are impotent. In some cases, ''they are just too embarrassed to tell a stranger they are using it,'' said Dr. George Philippides, consultant to Boston Emergency Medical Services. ''We're imploring patients to be honest.'' Pfizer spokeswoman Mariann Caprino refused to answer questions Thursday about side effects reported among Viagra patients. She also would not disclose that the company reported six deaths to the FDA on Thursday. ''People with ED (erectile dysfunction) tend to frequently suffer from serious underlying health conditions, such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease,'' she said. Diabetes, prostate cancer and other conditions can lead to impotence, a condition that disproportionately affects older men. ''In older men, the same disease process that causes blockages in the heart arteries can lead to some erectile dysfunctions,'' said Philippides, who is also head of coronary care at Boston Medical Center. ''There is certainly quite a bit of crossover here.'' But Pfizer did issue a press release Thursday reiterating that mixing the heart drugs and Viagra can cause large, sudden drops in blood pressure. Viagra also has another side effect: A small portion of men who use it develop visual disturbances that can leave them seeing a bluish tinge. The FDA has not stressed this side effect, although a group of ophthalmologists earlier this month called for more study of the reaction. Patients picked up 906,368 new prescriptions for Viagra from April 3 through May 8, according to IMS Health, a private industry researcher, in Plymouth Meeting, Pa., that tracks drug sales at the pharmacy level. The total number of Viagra prescriptions was 957,552 as of May 8. c Copyright 1998 The Associated Press search.washingtonpost.com