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

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (2927)	5/26/1998 11:06:00 PM
From: Mick Mørmøny	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9523

Brazil says unclear if deaths linked to Viagra Tuesday May 26, 9:10 pm Eastern Time RIO DE JANEIRO, May 26 (Reuters) - Two Brazilian men have died after taking the male impotence drug Viagra, but health officials said on Tuesday they were not certain the popular pill caused the deaths. Last week U.S. officials and the drug's manufacturer Pfizer Inc (PFE - news) began investigating the deaths of six men in the United States who also died after taking Viagra. Pfizer says the drug is safe and effective for men who have been diagnosed with ''erectile dysfunction'', but warns that it should not be taken by men who are also taking nitroglycerin or other nitrate drugs prescribed for heart disease. At least one of the Brazilian men who died had heart disease, according to a report in newspaper O Estado de S.Paulo. He died on May 16 in the southern Rio Grande do Sul state shortly after taking his first dose of contraband Viagra and having sex twice consecutively, his widow said. She refused to authorize an autopsy to clear up the cause of death, the report said. A spokeswoman from Brazil's health ministry said there had been reports of another death possibly linked to Viagra use in Brasilia, but she could provide no details. Viagra, which took off like a shot in the United States, is becoming fashionable even in Brazil's macho culture. It can be obtained legally in Brazil through direct import by someone who has a doctor's prescription, but there is a big black market trade as well, the health ministry said. ''You can import it with a prescription, but it is illegal otherwise and the police are on alert for the drug and will seize it,'' the spokeswoman said. To combat the growing black market problem, Brazil asked Pfizer this month to speed up its planned official launch of the drug there. A representative from Pfizer's local branch said they were planning to start distribution to pharmacies and drugstores in early June despite reports of the deaths. ''Impotence is more common in people of an advanced age, who are generally carriers of other health problems that can have an influence on the cause of death,'' Valdair Pinto, medical director of Pfizer's Brazilian unit, told local financial daily Gazeta Mercantil. #@!&\|/"?~=+)$_)(&%%$#@!?<@~#$%&(+/":{]\!'%>@$!(f)(u) Thread, I am just a messenger. If you are looking for a fight, look no farther, my name says it all. Full Disclosure: I'm long WLA, MRK & PFE, among others. I don't deal with options, just stocks. #@!&\|/"?~+)$)(&%%$#@!?:<@#$%&(/":{]\=%>@$!{F}{U}