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

To: zurdo who wrote (2906)	5/26/1998 4:29:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9523

Pfizer's Viagra Refills Increase as Total Prescriptions Decline Bloomberg News May 26, 1998, 12:56 p.m. PT Pfizer's Viagra Refills Increase as Total Prescriptions Decline New York, May 26 (Bloomberg) -- Pfizer Inc.'s Viagra is getting more refills even as the total number of prescriptions for the first pill to treat impotence declined in the week ended May 15, said IMS Health, an industry consulting group. The drop in total Viagra prescriptions came before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Friday said six people taking the pill had died. The FDA today said it can't confirm whether the deaths were linked to Viagra. Viagra became one of the best-selling drugs in the U.S. after its introduction last month, with more than 1 million prescriptions so far. Analysts expected demand for the drug to level off after men tried their first doses. The number of refills is more important in estimating how much Viagra will be sold, they said. ''When there's pent-up demand for a drug, usually there's a big spike (in sales) in the first weeks or months and then it eases off and can start to grow again,'' said Jerome Brimeyer, an analyst with UBS Securities Inc. Pfizer fell 1 1/2 to 103 15/16 in late trading. In April, early sales of Viagra pushed Pfizer to a record high 121 3/4. The number of refills rose 46 percent to 35,100 in the week ended May 15, while the total number of Viagra prescriptions fell 1.9 percent to 297,666 from 303,424 in the previous week, IMS Health said. ''The new prescriptions are leveling off and the refills are starting to kick in,'' said Jeffrey Chaffkin, an analyst with PaineWebber Inc. Unexplained Deaths It's uncertain how recent news about the unexplained deaths of six Viagra users will effect the drug's sales, Chaffkin said. ''Doctors may be less willing than before to write a prescription for everyone who asks for it,'' he said. This week's decline in total sales isn't a cause for concern, said Chaffkin, who has an ''attractive'' rating on Pfizer. If prescriptions remain at this level, Pfizer will have about $1.2 billion in annual U.S. sales of Viagra, he said. The real test will be the June prescriptions, Chaffkin said. Sales for late May would have been expected to slip because of the Memorial Day holiday even without the warning, Chaffkin said. Thursday, Pfizer said it was sending letters to emergency room personnel warning about the dangers of mixing Viagra with some heart medicine. Friday, the FDA disclosed the news about the deaths. Pfizer declined to comment about the reported deaths. Analysts have speculated that the six deaths may be connected to misuse of the drug or have been the result of heart attacks. Pfizer estimates that about 85 percent of Viagra prescriptions were written for men over 50 years of age, said Andrew McCormick, a company spokesman. IMS Health is a unit of Westport, Connecticut-based Cognizant Corp. --Kerry Dooley in the Princeton newsroom (609) 279-4016, with