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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 (5627)	9/19/1998 1:19:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 9523

Six-month Viagra trials to precede registration [in China] South China Morning Post Friday September 18 1998 RHONDA LAM WAN in Singapore Clinical trials on the impotence drug Viagra will start in three mainland areas this month, a leading urologist said yesterday. Professor Xue Zhaoying, director of the Institute of Urology at Beijing Medical University, said the State Pharmaceutical Administration had given the green light to recruit 500 patients from Beijing, Shanghai and Hubei province to test the oral impotence drug. "Some 500 pills, of which a quarter will be placebo, will be given to the patients, with neither doctors nor patients knowing if they are receiving the real drug," said Professor Xue. "The trials are expected to last six months and people can expect the formal registration late next year." Professor Xue said the trials followed the completion of a preliminary test on dosage and complications on 30 people from a Beijing university earlier this year. He was speaking at the fourth Asian Congress of Urology. A study showed more than 70 per cent of men in Shanghai, aged 40 or over, experienced impotence, against 52 per cent from a similar study in the American state of Massachusetts. The Shanghai study, in which more than 1,500 men were interviewed in March, showed 1,157 - 73 per cent of the respondents - had experienced impotence. Professor Xue said he could not speculate on the reasons of higher occurrence and severity among Chinese men as a final review of the study was pending. However, it was understood China's high smoking rate was likely to be a contributing factor. "People smoking 15 cigarettes or above daily and those with a smoking history of 15 years are more likely to suffer from the problem," said the professor. He said fast official approval of Viagra would help wipe out local black markets in which tablets were selling for up to 500 yuan (HK$465) each. The public would have to bear the cost of the drug once it was permitted but Professor Xue hoped the price would be about 100 yuan per pill. "It should not be very expensive. It is meaningless to rekindle people's hope and then ask them to choose between sex and food," he said. Co-speaker Professor Zhu Jichuan, chief of the urology department at the People's Hospital of Beijing Medical University, predicted the number of men suffering impotence would reach 410 million worldwide by the year 2005. scmp.com

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (5627)	9/19/1998 1:24:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9523

Hong Kong - Viagra peps up most sex lives in trial South China Morning Post Saturday September 19 1998 RHONDA LAM WAN Four in five Hong Kong men with impotency problems had their sex lives improved by taking Viagra in a trial. And some of the "guinea pigs" were so pleased with the sex drug that they fiddled their results to pocket extra tablets to use later on. Preliminary results of trials, in which 258 men from Hong Kong, Thailand and Indonesia took part, show that 81 per cent of those taking Viagra reported improved erections while 68 per cent had successful intercourse. Sixty-four Hong Kong men aged 26 to 77, who had suffered impotence for at least six months, were chosen for the trial. They were all patients from the Queen Mary, Prince of Wales and Kwong Wah hospitals. The men were divided into two groups, with 33 taking Viagra and 31 placebos. Neither doctors nor patients knew which people were taking the real drug. Research leader Peter Chan Siu-foon, of the Prince of Wales Hospital, said the results showed the drug was effective and safe, in line with US studies. "Our results in Asia show the effectiveness of the drug across racial lines," he said. Dr Chan said the data had been handed to the chief pharmacist from the Department of Health, which was handling the drug's registration. A spokesman said no final decision had been made Viagra sales in Hong Kong. Dr Chan said most side-effects reported were mild, with 15 per cent of the Viagra group experiencing flushes and 13 per cent headaches. It is estimated that 200,000 men in Hong Kong suffer from impotence, but doctors believe others would come forward if the drug was made available. Dr Andrew Yip Wai-chun, of Kwong Wah Hospital, said: "Since the release of the drug in March, we have been flooded with patients' inquiries saying they would like to volunteer for the trial and asking when the drug would be available in Hong Kong. "Some of the those taking part in the clinical trial even intentionally wrongly reported their consumption in an attempt to keep some pills for personal use later," he said. scmp.com