Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (162)	6/2/1998 1:51:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 1722

Pfizer Egypt Says It'll Continue to Push for Viagra Approval Bloomberg News June 2, 1998, 9:40 a.m. PT Pfizer Egypt Says It'll Continue to Push for Viagra Approval Cairo, June 2 (Bloomberg) -- Pfizer Egypt, an affiliate of U.S.-based Pfizer Inc., said it will continue to seek approval to sell Viagra in Egypt after local newspapers cited Minister of Health Ismail Sallam that three Egyptians were hospitalized after taking the impotence treatment. The company said in a half page advertisement in El Ahram, Egypt's best-known daily, it felt compelled ''to correct misleading and inaccurate statements'' in Egyptian newspapers on Viagra. It said it's been told nothing about the alleged hospitalizations. In the U.S., Viagra became one of the best-selling drugs in the country within weeks of its April introduction as the first pill to treat impotence. In Egypt in the month to May 25, Pfizer Egypt shares gained 116 percent to 35.4 Egyptian pounds because of expected demand for the drug in Egypt once it was given approval. They've since fallen 20.5 percent following the hospitalization allegations. ''Pfizer Egypt does not usually comment about its products while they are under review by the Ministry of Health,'' the company said. ''However, the unprecedented media coverage on Viagra, some of which quoted alleged statements from the Ministry of Health, compels Pfizer Egypt to issue this brief factual press statement.'' Newspapers cited a statement by Sallam on the state news agency Mena May 23 that three Egyptians have been hospitalized after taking Viagra. Since then, newspapers have carried stories almost daily about the effects of Viagra and its sky-rocketing prices on the black market. The business paper El Alam El Yom said yesterday air hostesses were making profits of $294 per packet for smuggling in the drug and selling it to pharmacists. Today it cited Hamdi Sayed, head of the Doctors' Syndicate, that approval of Viagra would boost consumer spending on pharmaceuticals to 5 billion Egyptian pounds ($1.46 billion) a year from its current4 3 billion pounds. Pfizer Egypt, which has about 7.2 percent of the Egyptian pharmaceuticals market according to research by ABN Amro, said it ''strongly opposes'' illegal imports. In a bid to quell some of the hysteria, it also said the drug ''does not increase sexual desire but restores normal sexual function.'' Unconfirmed The company said it ''immediately'' sought information from the Ministry of Health about the three Egyptians reportedly taken to hospital after taking Viagra and that the ministry ''has not been able to provide any information.'' No one was available for comment from the Ministry of Health. Sallam said May 17 Egypt won't allow imports of the drug until tests have been carried out. ''The authorities should take their time,'' said Dr. Emad Mohsen, medical director at Pfizer Egypt. He said he didn't know when a decision was likely to be reached. Meantime, a law aimed at Viagra is due to be passed soon, increasing the fine for selling smuggled drugs to between 10,000 pounds and 50,000 pounds from the current 50 pounds and allowing imprisonment for second-time offenders. --Ben Faulks in Cairo (202) 354 2284/594 1802 through the London

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (162)	6/2/1998 1:53:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1722

Viagra's Competitors to Disclose Data on Effectiveness, Safety Bloomberg News June 2, 1998, 10:01 a.m. PT Viagra's Competitors to Disclose Data on Effectiveness, Safety San Diego, June 2 (Bloomberg) -- Physicians and investors will learn more today about two impotence pills aiming to compete against Pfizer Inc.'s Viagra as researchers release data on clinical trials of the two medications. Schering-Plough Corp. and Zonagen Inc. will apply within the next month for U.S. approval to market their entry, Vasomax. Apomorphine, a tablet being developed by a joint venture of Abbott Laboratories and Japan's Takeda Chemical Industries is likely to be ready for consideration in about a year. The presentations at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association will provide information on two pills closest to challenging Viagra, which met unprecedented demand after its April introduction. While Viagra appears to be the most effective of the three, Vasomax and apomorphine could be used by men who can't take Viagra because they're on heart medication. ''Whatever drug that comes along against Viagra is going to have to be good,'' said Ira Sharlip, a San Francisco-based impotence expert. ''Viagra has set a standard for safety and efficacy that has to be equaled or exceeded in other drugs.'' Viagra has been the focus of 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. 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. Vasomax Schering-Plough last year joined the battle for the impotence market by acquiring rights to market Zonagen's Vasomax to treat male impotence. Investors saw that partnership as a vote of confidence in a drug has been the subject of at least eight lawsuits by shareholders who say Vasomax doesn't work and the company is guilty of fraud. Zonagen shares have doubled so far this year after plunging more than 60 percent last year after Manuel Asensio of New York- based Asensio & Co. issued a news release saying Vasomax has dangerous side effects and is ineffective. The company has declined to comment on the allegations, except to say they are groundless. Previous Zonagen SEC disclosures show that in a study of 435 men, 40 percent of those taking Vasomax and 34 percent in another trial of 360 men reported positive responses from the drug, including an erection and successful intercourse. That was well below the response rate of as much as 80 percent in tests for Pfizer's Viagra. Apomorphine Apomorphine, which is being developed by the Takeda-Abbott venture known as TAP Pharmaceuticals, is about a year behind Vasomax. It's a tablet placed under the tongue, which could enable it to take effect faster than a swallowed pill like Viagra. Investors said they're most interested in what the study says about apomorphine's side effects because earlier trials have shown that it can cause vomiting and nausea. ''The questions are how long did you see nausea and how long does the drug work? The longer the better,'' said John Schroer, manager of the $1.1 billion Invesco Strategic Health Sciences Fund. Concern about safety of impotence drugs was raised last month after the Pfizer reported the deaths of six men who had been prescribed Viagra. Yesterday, the FDA said it's only confirmed that four of the six had used the drug. Doctors attending the urology meeting said they're not surprised that four of some 1 million men on the drug have died. The bulk of men with impotence are ill or elderly and the deaths may be unrelated to Viagra's use, they said. Side Effects Still, Viagra 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. And so far, it appears that Vasomax and apomorphine don't present this risk. Zonagen President and Chief Executive Joseph Podolski said researchers will know more about Vasomax's effectiveness and safety than they did about Viagra before its U.S. introduction. Schering-Plough last week won approval to market it in Mexico, a much smaller market than the U.S. The company will be able to look for side effects that might not have shown up in clinical trials involving only a few thousand patients. ''That means millions of doses of the drug will have been used already before the U.S. introduction,'' Podolski said. To be sure, Vasomax and apomorphine aren't guaranteed of winning FDA approval, and both are yet to even submit the drugs for such review. ''I don't think you'll get all the answers at this meeting,'' said Schroer. --Jim Finkle in San Diego through the Princeton newsroom (609)

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (162)	6/2/1998 2:02:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1722

Three more upgrades for AHP from Bloomberg News: American Home Products Reiterated 'Buy' at UBS Securities Bloomberg News June 2, 1998, 5:02 a.m. PT Princeton, New Jersey, June 2 (Bloomberg Data) -- American Home Products Corp. (AHP US) was reiterated ''buy'' by analyst Jerome R. Brimeyer at UBS Securities. The 12-month target price is $55.00 per share. -- Andrew Bekoff in Princeton, New Jersey, (609)279-3652 Amer Home Prods Raised to 'Outperform' at Salomon Smith Barney Bloomberg News June 2, 1998, 5:31 a.m. PT Princeton, New Jersey, June 2 (Bloomberg Data) -- American Home Products Corp. (AHP US) was raised to ''outperform'' from ''neutral'' by analyst Christina Heuer at Salomon Smith Barney. The 12-month target price is $60.00 per share. -- Andrew Bekoff in Princeton, New Jersey, (609)279-3652 American Home Products Raised to 'Buy' at ABN AMRO Bloomberg News June 2, 1998, 8:32 a.m. PT Princeton, New Jersey, June 2 (Bloomberg Data) -- American Home Products Corp. (AHP US) was raised to ''buy'' from ''hold'' by analyst James P. Keeney at ABN AMRO. -- Sybil Carlson in Princeton, New Jersey, (609)279-3615