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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 (468)	7/6/1998 4:50:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 1722

Johnson & Johnson slips after Prudential downgrade Monday July 6, 1:12 pm Eastern Time NEW YORK, July 6 (Reuters) - Shares of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ - news) eased Monday after being downgraded by Prudential Securities analyst Charlene Lu, who cited disappointments within the pharmaceutical segment of the diversified health care giant. J&J was down 1-11/16 to 72 in midday trade. Lu cut her rating on J&J to hold from buy and lowered her fiscal 1999 earnings per share estimate from $3.11 to $3.02, while leaving unchanged her 1998 earnings estimate of $2.69 per share. Citing ''a greater than expected number of setbacks'' primarily in J&J's pharmaceuticals segment, Lu said she believed the company would have earnings growth of about 13 percent in the next three to five years instead of the 15 percent pace she had previously expected. Lu said the setbacks included ''problems with Propulsid,'' the company's blockbuster heartburn drug. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on June 29 said J&J's drug unit Janssen Pharmaceutica had written letters to doctors warning 38 people had died after taking the drug between 1993 and 1998. But the FDA said the deaths could not be blamed directly on Propulsid (cisapride). The agency added the label for Propulsid had been changed to warn the drug could cause potentially fatal cardiac rhythm problems among patients taking certain other medications, including antibiotics, antidepressants, antifungals and protease inhibitors. And the FDA said the label had been rewritten to recommend other therapies for heartburn be used before Propulsid, believed to account for over $1 billion of J&J's 1997 company revenues of $22.6 billion. Lu also cited disappointing sales for Regranex, a treatment for diabetic foot ulcers approved by the FDA late last year. She said other setbacks included votes by FDA advisory committees against recommending marketing approval of Antocin (atosiban), an experimental drug for delaying childbirth, and Ergoset (bromocriptine mesylate) for treatment of Type 2 diabetes. Shares of most other large U.S. drugmakers edged higher Monday amid a moderate Wall Street upturn. Schering-Plough Corp (SGP - news) was up 2 to 96-7/16 after being added earlier in the day to Salomon Smith Barney's ''Ten+Exceptional Names'' list of attractive stocks. Pharmacia & Upjohn (PHU.ST) (PNU - news), which was upgraded to buy from long-term buy Monday by J.P. Morgan Securities analyst Carl Seiden, rose 7/8 to 46-7/8. Seiden raised his target price on Pharmacia shares to $62 from $59, saying the recent successful launch of incontinence drug Detrol lowered investment risk.

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (468)	7/6/1998 4:55:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1722

Schering-Plough on Salomon's Exceptional Stocks List Bloomberg News July 6, 1998, 11:45 a.m. ET New York, July 6 (Bloomberg) -- Allstate Corp. and Chase Manhattan Corp. are among 15 stocks Salomon Smith Barney Inc. is betting on to be attractive investments in the coming year. The latest edition of Salomon's ''Ten Exceptional Names,'' an annually revised portfolio of stocks, is based on the recommendations of the firm's industry analysts. The list gained 31 percent from June 30, 1997, to June 30, beating the 28 percent gain for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index over the same period. Also making the list were Alcatel-Alsthom, Applied Materials Inc., Amgen Inc., Black & Decker Corp., Honeywell Inc., International Business Machines Corp., Motorola Inc., Navistar International Corp., Schlumberger Ltd., Schering-Plough Corp., Williams Cos., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Xerox Corp. Salomon considers quantitative, economic and technical research in compiling the list. The firm's 250 analysts cover about 75 industries. --Stephen Cohen in the New York newsroom (212) 318-2300/wm