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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 (3761)	6/29/1998 11:50:00 AM
From: Mick Mørmøny	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9523

Viagra deflates Pfizer Report that impotence pill triggered deaths of 30 men drags on drug maker NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Shares of Pfizer Inc. slumped in early trading Monday on news that the Food and Drug Administration has received reports of 30 men dying after taking Viagra, the blockbuster impotence pill that triggered a stampede to doctors' offices when regulators approved it three months ago. Pfizer (PFE) stock fell 2-1/8, to 109-13/16, or nearly 2.5 percent, follwing a Wall Street Journal report that the FDA has received 100 reports of men dying or suffering serious adverse affects after taking the drug. Despite the reports, regulators are said to remain confident that Viagra is safe, so long as users heed the warnings on the prescription label. Most of the fatalities linked to Viagra to date are elderly men, many of whom already suffered other health problems. Pfizer also found that some of the deaths occurred after men mixed Viagra with nitrate-based drugs, something the company warns against on the Viagra label. The Journal said the reports showed that among those who suffered serious adverse reactions -- but survived -- seven men had heart attacks, eight suffered strokes, four had black-outs and six experienced vision problems. The report quoted experts saying the reports raised questions about whether other drugs should be taken with Viagra. "All high blood-pressure medications are suspect," Raymond Woosley, the chairman of Georgetown's pharmacology department, told the Journal. Pfizer's package insert with Viagra states that blood-pressure medications may be taken safely with Viagra. Viagra tends to lower blood pressure. The reports showed that at least 14 of those who had reactions were taking a blood-pressure medication with Viagra -- including four who died, three who blacked out and two who developed vision problems. Woosley, however, said the numbers tested may have been too small to make any definitive determination. He also raised concerns about taking Viagra with Glucatrol, a diabetes drug. Two patients who have taken Glucatrol or similar drugs while using Viagra have died. A team of specialists assembled by the FDA to evaluate the reports has so far found nothing to indicate an aberration with the drug, the Journal reported. Doctors have filled more than 2 million prescriptions for Viagra since Pfizer introduced the drug in April.