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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 (442)	6/30/1998 1:21:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1722

WSJ - All-Star Analysts 1998 Survey - Drugs By Andrea Petersen Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal Before Pfizer's Viagra became a pop-culture phenomenon, Gene Robinson was already sold on the drug. His Pfizer call, in anticipation of Viagra's approval by the Food and Drug Administration, helped him win the No. 1 slot among drug-stock pickers with an estimated return of 127%. "I basically like companies with strong balance sheets and product pipelines," says Mr. Robinson, an analyst with Fifth Third/the Ohio Co., Columbus, Ohio. "Viagra for Pfizer -- that was easy." A first-time All-Star, Mr. Robinson gained 76% on Pfizer alone. Seemingly, it should have been hard to pick a bad drug stock last year. The industry has been going gangbusters, fueled by a series of superstar drugs. Yet the typical drug analyst turned in a 35% return, little better than the market as a whole. In addition to Pfizer, Mr. Robinson, 44 years old, profited from his pick of Mylan Laboratories, a generic-drug manufacturer with a continuous stream of applications at the FDA. Swift sales of a generic form of Glaxo Wellcome's top-selling ulcer drug Zantac bolstered the stock last year and it remains at the top of his list. Among large drug stocks, Mr. Robinson is enthusiastic about Merck, which has a couple of powerful painkillers in its pipeline -- one for migraines and another for arthritis. Eugene Melnitchenko, a 35-year veteran drug analyst, vaulted to second place with an estimated return of 117% by playing the role of rogue in 1997. Instead of going with the roaring industry leaders, he bet on marginal stocks -- and made a killing. He actually downgraded Pfizer and Merck to holds well before those stocks reached dizzying heights. But Mr. Melnitchenko, 60, scored a 107% return with ICN Pharmaceuticals, which has a hefty presence in Eastern Europe. "The economies are volatile, the political situation is somewhat unsettled," the three-time All-Star says. "But Eastern Europe is one of the last rapidly growing pharmaceutical markets." Mr. Melnitchenko also points to the eagerly anticipated combination therapy for hepatitis C that ICN is developing with Schering-Plough. Last month, an FDA advisory panel recommended that the therapy get agency approval. Partly because of the hepatitis C therapy, he is recommending Schering-Plough as well. The former Marine moved to Sutro & Co. earlier this year from Principal Financial Securities. (Last month, Principal Financial Securities was consolidated into Everen Securities, a unit of Everen Capital, Chicago, which acquired the firm in January from Principal Financial Group, Des Moines, Iowa.) Two-time All-Star Stephen O'Neil, whose recommendations generated an estimated 74% return, keeps his list of favorites short and sweet. Mr. O'Neil, with J.J.B. Hilliard, W.L. Lyons, Louisville, Ky., recommended only two stocks last year: Bristol-Myers Squibb and Schering-Plough -- and he downgraded Schering-Plough to a hold in early April, after little more than three months. Going into 1997, Mr. O'Neil, 44, felt that Bristol-Myers had a strong product line but was slightly undervalued because it didn't have any of those single superstar drugs that can send a stock soaring. "I viewed the company as relying more on the singles and doubles as opposed to the home run," he says. "It has a diverse group of drugs keeping revenues moving forward." Mr. O'Neil says the outlook is rosy for pharmaceuticals in 1998. "We're seeing drugs being much more targeted to specific areas, with fewer side effects and better compliance," Mr. O'Neil says. "This is an exciting time for the drug industry." (END) DOW JONES NEWS 06-29-98 11:20 PM