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

To: BigKNY3 who wrote (5689)	9/23/1998 11:08:00 PM
From: HiSpeed	Respond to of 9523

<6 Peaks and Valleys in one month...a new record.> Perhaps this reflects the high volatility we have in the market...

To: BigKNY3 who wrote (5689)	9/24/1998 9:13:00 AM
From: BigKNY3	Respond to of 9523

Viagra sold by private clinics for pounds 15 a tablet GPs left in state of uncertainty over restriction on prescribing SARAH BOSELEY HEALTH CORRESPONDENT 09/23/98 The Guardian Page 008 THE first Viagra impotence pills are already on sale for those who can afford it at walk-in private GP clinics in London, Birmingham, Dudley and Gateshead, it was revealed yesterday. They cost pounds 15 a tablet following a consultation for which pounds 120 is charged. The Medicentres which have sprung up at railway stations in London, and in shopping centres elsewhere, claim their prices are lower than most other private clinics will charge. But they put the cost of twice-a-week sex at pounds 1,440 a year. The consultation to rule out diabetes and heart conditions, which included a blood test, was a one-off, said a Medicentre spokeswoman, and it did not have to be repeated for further prescriptions. As customers began making their way to the private clinics, GPs around the country were still uncertain how to deal with patients suffering from impotence. Although the Department of Health has asked doctors not to prescribe Viagra on the National Health Service for the time being, the drug has not been blacklisted, which would make its prescription illegal. Blacklisting cannot take place while the House of Commons is in recess. So it is still technically within GPs' power to write an NHS prescription for Viagra , and they have been told they may do so "in exceptional circumstances" - which have not been defined. Furthermore, there may be family doctors who would feel bound by their terms and conditions of service to do so. Their contract speaks of "a duty to dispense or refer according to patient need". Most will probably accede to the Health Secretary's request and refer the patient to a GP at a different practice, who will see them privately. That will probably cost between pounds 50 and pounds 100. At the pharmacy, Viagra tablets will cost at least pounds 8 each, and there may be a dispensing fee on top. Should any GPs feel strongly that their patient ought to have Viagra and cannot afford to go privately, they may decide to prescribe it on the NHS anyway. According to a poll of 100 family doctors conducted for BBC Radio 4 yesterday, three out of four GPs thought Viagra should be available on the NHS, although many felt it should be rationed to those who most needed it.