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Biotech / Medical : PFE (Pfizer) How high will it go? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (5567)	9/16/1998 11:16:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 9523

Irish Independent: State could face œ20m bill as new drug is approved By EILISH O'REGAN, Health Correspondent September 16 1998 THE cost of allowing the anti-impotence pill, Viagra, to be dispensed free to medical card holders or at a subsidised price under other State drugs schemes could reach between œ7m and œ20m, Health Minister Brian Cowen warned yesterday. The drug which was licensed for prescription here yesterday is expected to be available countrywide from Monday week but it will cost most patients around œ9 a tablet. The Minister said he is setting up an expert group to monitor demand for the drug, the prescribing pattern of doctors and any problems reported over the next three months, before deciding whether to allow it to be dispensed under the medical card or the drugs refund schemes. The group will be chaired by the Chief Medical Officer, Dr James Kiely and will also include two urologists, a hospital consultant and three GPs. He expressed concern that it will be in demand as a lifestyle drug by men who are not impotent and warned the State should guard against any black market trade as well as protect those who are in danger of taking the drug without medical supervision. It will mean that most men wanting Viagra will be paying around œ9 a tablet for packs of four and eight. Viagra does not have to be administered every day but patients have to take one every time they want to have sex. According to Peter Kearns, director of Pfizer Pharmaceuticals it will come in 25mg, 50mg and 100mg tablets and the highest doses are the most costly. The majority of patients are likely to need a 50g dose tablet. A 50g tablet will be sold by the drug company for œ5.65 but when pharmacists' fees are added on the patient will pay around œ9. A minority who will need a 100mg dose will pay around double that price. If allowed on the medical card scheme the cost to the State for every 50mg tablet would be œ5.65 plus œ1.69 per prescription fee for the pharmacist. PROBLEMS Waterford GP Dr Cormac Macnamara who treats patients with impotence problems said if it is made available on the medical card scheme doctors are likely to prescribe four to eight tablets a month. Irish GPs are now under pressure to keep their medical card budgets down and are given financial incentives to do so. He warned men who are not impotent not take the drug as every medication has side effects. Patients need minimal investigation and people on common medications can take it safely. But those on nitrates for angina should not use it because large and sudden drops in blood pressure can occur. Trials show that Viagra resulted in successful sexual intercourse 69pc of the time. Dublin GP Dr Stephen Murphy said all GPs will be allowed prescribe it and many have undergone recent training in treating the problem. Meanwhile, Pfizer which makes ingredients for the drug in its Cork plant, is to invest around œ300m there in the next two to three years, creating another 100 jobs. independent.ie Viagra due to go on sale here by end of the week independent.ie

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (5567)	9/16/1998 11:29:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 9523

'Hype overshadowing need' The Telegraph, 16 September 1998 A DOCTOR who worked on the Viagra project from its inception in 1985 says the hype that has surrounded the drug has overshadowed the real need among men who suffer impotence. Dr Gill Samuels, Pfizer's director of science policy, said: "The NHS spends œ12 million a year on erectile disfunction already, so the Government's refusal to issue it on the NHS is difficult to understand." She said she has never seen a response from patients to equal the letters Pfizer has received. One read: "This medication has had a substantial positive effect on my life and marriage. It may be difficult for someone who has not suffered impotence to comprehend the effect of the condition on one's life. But the word 'devastating' comes close." Dr Samuels described the discovery of Viagra as a "great British achievement" after the drug was pioneered by British scientists based at Sandwich, Kent, with more than 1,500 people working on it over the past 17 years. However she gave a warning: "There is a certain amount of risk involved in sex due to cardiac workload and it is important that patients are examined carefully by physicians before receiving the drug." She said that the 69 deaths which had been linked to Viagra had been thoroughly investigated. Regarding the NHS, Dr Samuels said that her firm had been discussing the price - now agreed at œ4.84 a tablet - for "several months".