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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 (603)	7/30/1998 7:30:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1722

Merck, Monsanto Drugs May Have Wide Range of Health Benefits Bloomberg News July 30, 1998, 6:31 p.m. ET Merck, Monsanto Drugs May Have Wide Range of Health Benefits Maui, Hawaii, July 30 (Bloomberg) -- Merck & Co.'s and Monsanto Co.'s experimental painkiller drugs may have benefits that extend to conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and cancer, researchers said. The drugs, known as Cox-2 inhibitors, work by interfering with production of an enzyme, cyclooxygenase-2, linked to pain and swelling. Cox-2 also plays a role in other diseases, according to researchers at an industry-funded workshop. ''Cox-2 technology may have wide applications across a broad spectrum of medical conditions,'' said Peter Lipsky, director of the arthritis research center at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, which sponsored the workshop. Analysts are already saying the Cox-2 inhibitors have multibillion dollar potential, based mainly on expected sales in treating arthritis. Other uses for the drugs could help sales skyrocket. If it wins U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval, Monsanto's version of the Cox-2 inhibitor will be sold by Pfizer Inc., the maker of Viagra and a marketing powerhouse. The two will compete against Whitehouse Station, New Jersey-based Merck, the biggest U.S. drugmaker. Unlike existing painkillers, a Cox-2 inhibitor doesn't suppress a related enzyme, Cox-1, that triggers production of the stomach's natural protective lining. That could reduce the side gastrointestinal effects existing painkillers cause. Previous studies have shown the Cox-2 drugs have relatively few side effects and help relieve the pain of arthritis. Now, preliminary studies promise other benefits. One group of researchers out of Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York found that patients with Alzheimer's have high levels of Cox-2 in their brains, suggesting a drug that blocks the enzyme could fight the disease. Other studies found excess Cox-2 in the brain during strokes and in the tumors of cancer patients. Studies in mice and rats also suggest benefits for the drugs, according to researchers who presented their findings today at the Cox-2 meeting in Maui, Hawaii. The meeting was funded in part by grants from Merck, Monsanto's G.D. Searle & Co. unit, Roche Bioscience and the R.W. Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute. Analysts expect Searle to file for FDA approval of its Cox-2 inhibitor soon, followed in a few months by Merck. --Kristin Jensen in the Washington newsroom (202) 624-1843

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (603)	7/30/1998 7:36:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1722

[MTC] France to Approve Modified Corn, Opening Way for U.S. (Update2) Bloomberg News July 30, 1998, 2:57 p.m. ET France to Approve Modified Corn, Opening Way for U.S. (Update2) (Adds details and comment from Monsanto spokesman starting in 7th paragraph; adds analyst comment in 10th paragraph.) Brussels, July 30 (Bloomberg) -- The French government said it will soon approve for use two varieties of genetically modified corn, opening the way for the U.S. to restart corn exports to Europe worth about $220 million a year. The government said it will grant licenses ''in the coming days'' to two new gene altered corn varieties -- TER25, developed by Hoechst Schering Agrevo Ltd. and Monsanto Co.'s MON810. This is the final stage in the EU's biotechnology approvals process and will allow the U.S. to export the corn to Europe. The U.S. is unable to sell any corn to Europe at the moment because it can't guarantee that shipments don't contain traces of the modified corn. European consumer and environmental groups oppose genetically modified plants, saying they could damage health and the environment. U.S. officials said the restrictions have already cost farmers more than $100 million in lost export earnings. ''Bearing in mind the positive opinions of the competent French and European experts, two new types of corn, TER25 and MON810, produced by Agrevo and Monsanto, will be authorized in the coming days,'' the office of French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin said in a statement. Anticipated in U.S. The French government said all future applications to sell modified corn will be studied ''on a case-by-case basis, with regard to their health and environmental effects.'' It also announced a two year moratorium on authorizations of colza, also called rapeseed in Europe, because of ''uncertainties linked to the spread of transgenes into the environment.'' U.S. producers, anticipating the opening of European markets for U.S. corn exports, already are utilizing Monsanto's seed technology, analysts said. Additional sales of genetically altered seed based on the pending approval are not expected, said Randy Krotz, director of industry affairs at Monsanto. ''The adoption of the technology by the U.S. growers was not hindered because of the expectation all along was that the foreign approval would come in time for the 1998 harvest,'' Krotz said. ''It's a great thing for the export of corn, but as far as additional sales for Monsanto, on the MON810 it probably won't move the dial.'' Waiting for Months Still, with corn prices down 17 percent this year amid expectations for the second-largest U.S. crop on record and weak Asian demand, the European market could provide a much-needed export outlet for U.S. corn to be harvested this autumn. Moves to open European markets to U.S. corn exports ''are all positive developments and all incremental developments,'' for Monsanto, said ING Baring Furman Selz LLC analyst Mark Wiltamuth, who has a ''buy'' rating for Monsanto shares. The EU originally approved the two corn types in April. U.S. exporters have been unable to ship them to Europe because France refused to give the approvals a final rubber stamp. Under EU rules, the country which originally applied for the license on behalf of the companies -- in this case France -- has to give the final approval. ''We've been waiting for this for months,'' said Dr. Ernst Rasche, Hoechst Schering Agrevo's director of industrial affairs. ''We are cautious. We'll only believe it once it's really in our hands.'' Slower in Europe U.S. diplomats in Brussels, who asked not to be named, said they were satisfied with the decision. No U.S. corn was offered at today's weekly grains management committee meeting in Brussels for import into Spain, because U.S. exporters knew they had no chance of selling, the diplomats said. Spain will instead import 100,000 tons from other suppliers next week. Special corn import quotas of 2 million tons for Spain and 500,000 tons for Portugal are normally filled by the U.S. This year, Argentina and central European countries such as Hungary have filled most of the needs. The U.S. has approved more than 30 genetically modified seeds since 1990, while approvals in Europe are progressing much more slowly. About 40 percent of the 28 million hectares of soy planted in the U.S. for this year's harvest were modified varieties, as well as 20 percent of the corn crop and more than half the cotton crop. --Michael Mann in the Brussels bureau (32-2) 285 4300 with