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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 (796)	9/15/1998 7:34:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1722

Bloomberg: Pfizer's Viagra Wins European Union Approval (Update1) Bloomberg News September 15, 1998, 6:51 a.m. ET Pfizer's Viagra Wins European Union Approval (Update1) (Adds analyst's comment in 4th paragraph, background throughout, updates share price reaction in last paragraph.) Zurich, Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Pfizer Inc.'s Viagra received approval for sale in the 15-nation European Union, a step toward reviving the impotence drug's flagging sales growth after a record-breaking U.S. launch in April. Individual EU governments will determine when Viagra will be available and whether the costs will be reimbursed under national health-care plans, Jochen Kubosch, spokesman for EU Industry Commissioner Martin Bangemann, said yesterday. Pfizer has said it plans to start selling the drug in some EU countries next month, after Switzerland cleared Viagra in June. The value of European sales will depend on whether national health services agree to meet the costs, analysts said. ''The key in Europe is going to be reimbursement,'' said independent analyst Hemant Shah, before the announcement. The EU approval comes after U.S. prescriptions for the drug fell to about 168,000 a week after topping 250,000 in June, according to IMS Health Inc. Viagra's U.S. introduction was the most lucrative for any drug, generating $411 million in sales in its first three months. ''The approval again confirms the safety and efficacy of the treatment,'' Pfizer AG said in a statement. Pfizer is the world's sixth-biggest pharmaceuticals company. Who Pays? In the U.S., insurance companies finance their customers' use of Viagra, though some limit their payments for the impotence treatment, which can cost about $10 a pill. In Europe, that may be different. U.K. Health Secretary Frank Dobson yesterday temporarily barred doctors from prescribing Viagra as a National Health Service-funded treatment, saying subsidizing the drug ''could prove a serious drain on the funds of the NHS.'' Dobson said the interim U.K. ban will be in effect until ministers consult further with advisers and the manufacturer. In the meantime, doctors will be allowed to prescribe the drug to patients paying with their own funds. In Switzerland, Pfizer has asked the Social Security office to add the drug to a list of treatments covered by health insurance, though the government has yet to rule on the request. Interior and Health Minister Ruth Dreifuss has already said she'd oppose such a move. Still, Pfizer sold 15,000 pills in the first month since Viagra's introduction in Switzerland, the most successful drug launch in the country's history. The EU's committee on medicines recommended in August that the European Commission, the EU's final screening body for pharmaceutical products, approve Viagra. The EU comprises Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, the U.K. and Sweden. The union has a population of over 373 million. Potential Users Researchers have found that as many as 50 percent of men between 40 and 70 years of age may suffer from erectile dysfunction, and up to 10 percent may be completely impotent. Part of Viagra's success stems from the fact that it's easier to use than other impotence remedies on the market. Vivus Inc. sells a treatment that must be delivered through the urethra. Zonagen Inc. and TAP Holdings Inc., a venture of Abbott Laboratories and Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd., are also developing oral medications to treat impotence. Pfizer's shares traded in Switzerland today rose 1.25 francs to 145 Swiss francs ($101.5) --Rudy Ruitenberg in the Amsterdam bureau (31-20) 589 8507 and