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

To: BigKNY3 who wrote (5687)	9/23/1998 10:35:00 PM
From: BigKNY3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9523

Bill Gates backs new impotence pill that will rival Viagra Jon Ungoed-Thomas 09/20/98 Sunday Times - London News International 4gn Page 3 HE IS the last man to need the money, but Bill Gates seems once again to have struck gold. The Microsoft billionaire has invested in an impotence drug that is set to rival Viagra . Results of trials on the new drug, codenamed IC351, which were published in the United States last week, suggest it can successfully treat impotence in the same way as Viagra . The chemists who have developed it hope, however, that it will have fewer side effects. "This is the market to be in and it looks like we have developed an effective drug," said the Icos Corporation. "We think it is more specific in its action than Viagra , which should mean fewer problems for patients." It was successful in trials on 44 patients, although detailed results of the tests - conducted outside the United States - have not been made public. Further trials are under way to test the safety of IC351. Shares in Icos have risen more than 70% since the Se attle-based company revealed that it had developed a potential rival to Viagra . Gates is the biggest shareholder, owning 12.6%, and has sat on the board since July 1990. The drug, which the company has been working on since 1991, is claimed by Icos not to have Viagra 's side effect of causing slight abnormalities in the vision of some users. Diana Rosman, investor relations co-ordinator for the Icos Corporation, said: "There is still some way to go, but the test results are very encouraging." While it may be two years before IC351, which has yet to be given a brand name, is available for sale, the European commission awarded Viagra a marketing licence last week. However, it will be available only on prescription and to men aged 18 or over. Pfizer, the drug's manufac turer, says Viagra will be available in Britain on private prescription this week. Frank Dobson, the health secretary, has angered some doctors by ruling that the drug will not be available on the NHS. He has said the government needs more time to assess the implications of making it available at Pounds 4.84 per tablet. "A lot of people have been very disappointed," said the Impotence Association. "It is particularly annoying that it is available in other European countries, but not here." In Sweden, Viagra is for sale on the public health service at Pounds 4.60 for 25mg, but most other countries in Europe have not yet made the drug available. The blue, diamond-shaped tablets were not intended for recreational use but for men who are impotent. They take an hour to work and are effective for seven out of ten impotent men. Possible side effects can include indigestion, flushing of the face and headaches; some patients report a blue tinge to their eyesight.