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Biotech / Medical : Novartis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tom Wilkes who wrote (231)	9/2/1998 9:16:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 296

European Drug Shares Surge After U.S. Drugmakers Rally Bloomberg News September 2, 1998, 6:38 a.m. ET European Drug Shares Surge After U.S. Drugmakers Rally Amsterdam, Sept. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Drugmakers across Europe, including Glaxo Wellcome Plc, rose after U.S. drugmakers led yesterday's recovery in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a barometer for worldwide shares, and as Novartis' chief executive rekindled hopes of consolidation in the industry. Pharmaceutical companies were among those leading the increase in the Bloomberg Europe 500 Index. Europe's largest drugmaker Glaxo rose as much as 4.1 percent, as did Germany's third-largest chemicals and drugmaker Hoechst AG. The recovery follows five days of declines in European stocks on concern that economic trouble in Russia and financial turmoil in Asia may dent profits of European companies. ''We still see value in the sector,'' said Peter Blair, a chemicals and drugs analyst at Salomon Smith Barney in London. ''In a bear market the defensive values of a pharma company are useful. The long-term growth prospects for pharmaceuticals are still good.'' Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG, the world's largest health- care company, rose 2.1 percent. Chief Executive Officer Daniel Vasella said in an interview with Finanz & Wirtschaft newspaper he is ''optimistic'' that pharmaceutical sales growth will accelerate in the third and fourth quarters of the year, and said acquisitions are a ''priority.'' This comes after Roche Holding AG's Chief Financial Officer Henri Meier said last month the second-largest Swiss drugmaker also plans further purchases to boost its pharmaceuticals division. Roche rose 3.8 percent. ''Favored pharmaceutical stocks are Glaxo and Zeneca, I also like Hoechst,'' said Blair. ''In the longer term the outlook for pharma is probably superior to chemicals. Certainly for the companies that have a chemical and pharmaceutical component, such as Hoechst, Bayer and Akzo Nobel, the market undervalues the pharma component.'' Zeneca Group Plc, the third-largest U.K. drugmaker, rose 1.35 percent and Akzo Nobel NV, the maker of the world's best- selling contraceptive pill, added 3.14 percent. German drug and chemicals maker Bayer AG rose 3.8 percent. Other gainers included Belgium's No. 1 chemicals and drugmaker Solvay SA. The Brussels-based company, which makes PVC plastic and antidepressant drugs, gained 5.0 percent. --Rudy Ruitenberg in the Amsterdam bureau (31-20) 589 8507/ab