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To: Jim Lamb who wrote (298)	6/12/1998 12:05:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 1722

Venezuela Attacks Illegal Sales of Viagra as Demand Surges Bloomberg News June 12, 1998, 5:50 a.m. PT Venezuela Attacks Illegal Sales of Viagra as Demand Surges Caracas, June 12 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuela is taking steps to attack illegal sales of Pfizer Inc.'s impotence treatment Viagra as demand surges with the new drug being regarded as this year's ideal Father's Day gift, El Nacional newspaper reported. Venezuela's Health Ministry has started confiscating Viagra, and checking street vendors, some of whom have been caught selling reshaped aspirin, recolored blue to resemble the pill. Officials said efforts at regulating the trade have been stymied by the small number of health inspectors as Caracas, a city of 7 million, only has three. Last month, a shipment of Viagra was hijacked at a Venezuelan port when it arrived. (EN 6/12 C3) --Peter Wilson in Caracas (582) 953-4060 or 953-5066 through the

To: Jim Lamb who wrote (298)	6/12/1998 12:06:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1722

Aggressive Treatment of Hypertension Preferable, Study Finds Bloomberg News June 12, 1998, 12:41 a.m. PT Aggressive Treatment of Hypertension Preferable, Study Finds London, June 12 (Bloomberg) -- Treating hypertension aggressively with drugs and aspirin can cut the risk of heart attack and stroke, a new study of nearly 19,000 patients showed. The study, published in the medical journal The Lancet, found that the ''optimum'' level of hypertension or blood pressure to minimize the risk of heart problems is lower than previously believed. The finding is likely to prompt doctors to prescribe stronger treatment regimes for the condition, analysts said. Hypertension, a condition characterized by relatively high average blood pressure over sustained periods, affects about a quarter of the U.S. population in varying degrees. Typically doctors prescribe lifestyle changes, such as smoking cessation, improved diets and exercise, as a treatment. In serious cases, doctors prescribe a range of hypertension drugs, usage of which could rise as the study's conclusions gain acceptance, according to Genghis Lloyd-Harris, analyst with Credit Suisse First Boston. ''In the short term, there will definitely be an increase in drug prescribing for hypertensives,'' said Lloyd-Harris. ''Doctors will want more aggressive control of the hypertension.'' Major makers of cardiovascular drugs include Merck & Co., Bayer AG, Pfizer Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Hoechst AG, Novartis AG and Zeneca Group Plc. Astra Sponsors Study The study, which was sponsored by Swedish drugmaker Astra AB, a maker of hypertension drugs, randomly assigned three blood pressure level goals to three groups of about 6,200 hypertension patients each from 26 countries. The study was conducted by Prof. Lennart Hansson, head of clinical hypertension research at Sweden's University of Uppsala. The three goals were to have diastolic blood pressure levels of 90, 85 and 80. Normal diastolic blood pressure - a measure of blood pressure when the heart muscle is relaxed - is usually between 60 to 85 in most people. The study found that diastolic blood pressure that is lowered to 82.5 is the optimal level for maintaining cardiovascular health. Previously, a diastolic blood pressure level of 90 was considered standard. Blood pressure is typically measured by two variables -- systolic pressure which measures blood pressure when the heart is contracted and diastolic pressure when the heart muscle is relaxed -- expressed as a ratio. The study, called Hypertension Optimal Treatment (HOT), used a drug called felodipine to lower blood pressure in patients, as well as other drugs if that failed to lower blood pressure to the target level. Aspirin was also used in some patients, and found to cut the risk of major cardiovascular incidents by 15 percent, the study results showed. Felodipine is one of a commonly used class of blood pressuring lowering drugs called calcium channel blockers. It is Astra's fourth-biggest selling drug under the brand name Plendil, generating 2.24 million kronor ($280 million) in 1997 sales. ''HOT provides strong evidence that intensive therapy is beneficial,'' said Prof. Norman Kaplan, a cardiologist with the University of Texas' Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, in an accompanying Lancet commentary. --Dane Hamilton in the London newsroom (44-171) 330-7727/pnt