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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 (5723)	9/25/1998 6:35:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 9523

Pfizer Antibiotic [Zithromax] Seen Reducing Heart Disease in Rabbit Study Bloomberg News September 25, 1998, 5:49 p.m. ET Pfizer Antibiotic Seen Reducing Heart Disease in Rabbit Study San Diego, California, Sept. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Pfizer Inc.'s antibiotic Zithromax seemed to prevent hardening of the arteries in a study of about 60 rabbits, an early indication that fighting bacterial infection may fight off some heart disease. Hardening of the arteries can lead to heart attacks and strokes, two of the leading causes of death in the U.S. The research was presented at the 38th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, held in San Diego. Previous studies in animals had suggested a link between hardening of the arteries, also known as atherosclerosis, and bacterial infection. More research will be needed to prove a link between bacterial infection and the disease in man. ''We think the animal studies may help develop better guidelines'' for possible human studies, said Ignatius Fong, professor of medicine at the University of Toronto. In studies conducted at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, investigators infected three groups of rabbits with chlamydia pneumonaie to produce respiratory infections. A group of 24 rabbits was treated with Zithromax five days later and another group of 24 was given the antibiotic after six weeks. The third group, which had 23 rabbits, was untreated to serve as a control for the experiment. Eight of these rabbits developed early-stage atherosclerosis in the heart's main artery, the aorta. In the 24 rabbits given Zithromax after six weeks, eight animals also developed some kind of aortic damage. Only one rabbit of 24 treated earlier with Zithromax developed atherosclerosis. Research previously published in two medical journals indicated use of some antibiotics might play a role in reducing heart disease, Fong said. Pfizer, the world's sixth biggest drugmaker by sales, also introduced a new antibiotic Trovan earlier this year. Considered a success among antibiotics, which have about $8 billion in annual U.S. sales, Trovan's success has been overshadowed by another product Pfizer introduced this year, the impotence pill Viagra. --Kerry Dooley in San Diego through the Washington newsroom (202)