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Biotech / Medical : Agouron Pharmaceuticals (AGPH) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Steve Fancy who wrote (5340)	9/18/1998 5:20:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Respond to of 6136

AIDS drug production problem persists at Abbott Reuters, Friday, September 18, 1998 at 17:04 CHICAGO, Sept 18 (Reuters) - No solution has been found to a problem on the production line for capsules of the anti-AIDS drug Norvir and supplies will run out within the next month, said manufacturer Abbott Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:ABT) on Friday. Some of the roughly 60,000 HIV-infected patients who had been taking Norvir capsules are switching to liquid Norvir, which is in plentiful supply, said Melissa Brotz, spokeswoman for the North Chicago, Ill.-based drug company. Supplies of Norvir capsules on hand at Abbott warehouses were depleted three weeks ago, while external inventories will be exhausted "within the next month or so," Brotz said. "We don't have news on the capsule manufacturing...We have not yet found the exact source of the original problem," Brotz said. "We're hopeful that we will resume capsule production soon. But at this time we don't have a date." On July 27, Abbott announced it was having difficulties making Norvir capsules involving formation of an undesired crystalline structure that changes how the capsules dissolve. Norvir is one of four major protease inhibitors taken to fight HIV, usually combined with other drugs, such as AZT. Pharmacists, physicians and patients are getting guidance from Abbott to help manage the switch from capsule to liquid. Norvir, with $170 million in sales last year, ranks fourth in the roughly $2.2 billion world protease inhibitor market. The drug had been expected to produce revenues of about $250 million this year for Abbott, analysts said. The three top-selling protease inhibitors are Merck & Co. Inc.'s (NYSE:MRK) Crixivan at $750 million in estimated 1998 sales, Agouron Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AGPH) Viracept at $750 million, and Roche Holding Ltd.'s (ZSE:ROCZ.G) Invirase at $400 million, drug industry analysts said. Shares in Abbott were up 50 cents at $43.06 in midday trading on Friday. chicago.equities.newsroom@reuters.com)) Copyright 1998, Reuters News Service