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Biotech / Medical : Pharma News Only (pfe,mrk,wla, sgp, ahp, bmy, lly) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (127)	5/30/1998 8:27:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1722

Viagra, Competitors Takes Center Stage as Urologists Meet Bloomberg News May 30, 1998, 1:52 p.m. PT Viagra, Competitors Takes Center Stage as Urologists Meet San Diego, May 30 (Bloomberg) -- Pfizer Inc.'s blockbuster pill Viagra and a handful of other impotence drugs will dominate discussions as doctors gather in San Diego today for the opening of the world's largest annual urology meeting. Interest in the proceedings of the American Urological Association has never been greater, analysts say, as doctors meet to exchange information about the use of Viagra and evaluate data on current and would-be competitors to the drug. Schering-Plough Corp. and Zonagen Inc. as well as Abbott Laboratories and Japan's Takeda Chemical Industries will present data on two impotence pills in development, while Vivus Inc. hopes to impress doctors with trials of its treatment, Muse, which is inserted through the urethra. ''This will give a very educated audience an opportunity to see the facts from serious clinical trials,'' said David Saks, an analyst with Gruntal & Co. ''No Hollywood hype will be tolerated at the AUA meeting.'' Viagra has been the focus of unprecedented media attention during the past month because its introduction caused millions of people to openly discuss the issue of impotence for the first time and created a market that drug-industry analysts say could reach $4 billion in sales annually. Vasomax and Apomorphine Impotence is a problem for as many as an estimated 30 million men in the U.S., including more than a third of 40-year- olds and two-thirds of 70-year-olds. While surgery, vacuum pumps, prostheses, penile injections and drug delivery through the urethra have been available for years, they can be painful and awkward to use, and have left many men reluctant to discuss the problem with their doctors. Schering-Plough last year joined the battle for that market by acquiring rights to market Zonagen's Vasomax. That pill, which is yet to be submitted for FDA approval, yesterday won approval for sale in Mexico. Abbott Laboratories and Japan's Takeda Chemical Industries, meanwhile, are preparing to file for approval to market apomorphine, yet another pill treatment for impotence. One issue that physicians will focus on as they meet tomorrow and Tuesday to discuss impotence is how the effectiveness and safety of the three drugs differ, the main criteria they consider when choosing among competing products. Not for All Patients Though some 1 million men have already sought Viagra prescriptions, the drug is not for all patients. It should not be taken with nitrates, common drugs that dilate arteries in patients with chest pain. That combination can lead to severely lowered blood pressure, a heart attack, or death. So far, it appears that Vasomax and apomorphine don't present this risk. Pfizer last week said that three patients who used the drug appear to have died because they mixed it with the common heart medicines such as nitroglycerin. Another three Viagra users appear to have died as a result of heart attacks or strokes associated with sexual activity in older men, the company said. Doctors won't be reviewing data from Icos Corp., whose impotence drug is in earlier-stage human trials than Vasomax and apomorphine. Icos shares rose 30 percent yesterday on enthusiasm about the drug, IC351. Vivus Inc. is hoping results of trials it sponsored will boost prescriptions of Muse, which works by inserting an alprostadil pellet into the urethra. Those studies aren't likely to convince doctors to prescribe Muse before trying Viagra first, said Ira Sharlip, a member of the AUA's impotence guidelines committee. ''Viagra works better than I thought it would and that's what everybody wants to try,'' Sharlip said. ''Muse has been effective in some men, but not a large percentage of those who have tried it in the past.'' Still, companies like Vivus and Pharmacia & Upjohn Inc., which makes Caverject, an injectible form of alprostadil, stand to gain in the long-term if they're used by 20 percent of men that Sharlip estimates won't find pills effective. --Jim Finkle in San Diego through the Princeton newsroom (609)

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (127)	5/30/1998 8:43:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 1722

Analysts on "Wall Street Week" recommends PFE, LLY and WLA PaineWebber's Shore Recommends Procter & Gamble on 'Rukeyser' Bloomberg News May 29, 1998, 8:23 p.m. PT PaineWebber's Shore Recommends Procter & Gamble on 'Rukeyser' Owings Mills, Maryland, May 29 (Bloomberg) -- Procter & Gamble Co. will be a strong stock in coming years, said Andrew Shore, managing director at PaineWebber Inc., on Public Broadcasting System's ''Wall Street Week With Louis Rukeyser'' program. Shore, an analyst who follows consumer non-durable companies, said Cincinnati-based P&G is so strong he would ''use it to fund'' his 13-month-old daughter's education. The company, he said, has ''the best brands, the best management'' and is the most dominant of its peers in terms of market share. Other companies Shore recommended were Avon Products Inc. and Colgate-Palmolive Co. Both are producing accelerating earnings growth and Colgate is being run by ''the best CEO in the business,'' Reuben Mark, Shore said. Procter & Gamble and Colgate will benefit from new products, such as P&G's Fat Free Pringles potato chips, which Shore estimates will be a $150 million product in a year, and Colgate's Total toothpaste -- ''the best new toothpaste on the market.'' One company with a great product whose stock won't rise rapidly is Gillette Co., Shore said. Gillette's Mach3 razor is a ''$1 billion product,'' Shore said. Still, the stock is ''almost a victim of its own success,'' he said. Gillette's stock is up 16.61 percent this year and has an price-to-earnings ratio of 39.73, based on estimated 1998 earnings. By comparison, Avon's shares are up 33.30 percent this year and the company has a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.48. Procter & Gamble shares have risen 5.09 percent this year and the company has a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.59, based on estimated earnings for fiscal 1998, ending in June. Shore also defended a recent cut in his recommendation on Sunbeam Corp. to ''neutral'' from ''buy.'' ''I think its going to be very difficult to turn around Sunbeam under present management,'' he said. Chairman and Chief Executive Al Dunlap has downsized too far and the company would be better off with a leader who has a ''strong consumer non- durable background'' and realizes Sunbeam doesn't have 15 percent to 20 percent margins, Shore said. Among the program's panelists, Martin Zweig, managing director of Zweig-Dimenna Partners LP, recommended Warner-Lambert Co., as did Liz Ann Sonders, managing director at Avatar Associates. Sonders said she also saw value in Eli Lilly & Co. and Pfizer Inc. She said Pfizer's impotence drug Viagra faces little threat from a similar drug being developed by Icos Corp. because the latter probably won't be on the market for a year. --Courtney Schlisserman in the New York newsroom (212) 318-2300