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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 (6195)	11/3/1998 4:14:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 9523

Pfizer to Seek Approval for Zoloft for Post-Traumatic Stress Bloomberg News November 3, 1998, 10:43 a.m. ET Pfizer to Seek Approval for Zoloft for Post-Traumatic Stress Paris, Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Pfizer Inc.'s best-selling antidepressant Zoloft appears to be effective in treating post- traumatic stress syndrome, a benefit that may apply to other similar drugs, a study released today showed. The New York-based maker of impotence pill Viagra plans to use the study as part of its application for approval to sell Zoloft to treat the debilitating condition, a filing that is expected to be imminent, a spokeswoman said. Zoloft, which generated $1.5 billion in 1997, is now approved to treat depression, panic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. If approved, Zoloft would be the first of a class of antidepressant drugs called SSRIs to be approved for treating post-traumatic stress syndrome, according to Kathleen T. Brady, associate professor of psychiatry at the Medical University of South Carolina, one of the researchers on the trial. ''It is a disorder that has been underrecognized for years,'' said Brady in an interview. The syndrome, which causes flashbacks and other negative psychological effects after damaging events such as war, rape or assault, affects about 8 percent of the general population, according to the study, which was released today at the 11th European College of Neuropsychopharmacology conference in Paris. The researchers tested 187 patients, of whom about half used the drug while the others used a dummy pill, or placebo. It found that patients using Zoloft had statistically significant improvements to their condition, as assessed by several standard psychological tests, although it didn't cure the condition. Brady also said about 30 percent of the patients taking the drug didn't respond to the treatment, a failure rate that is typical with SSRIs. Brady said other studies had shown that Prozac, Eli Lilly & Co.'s SSRI and the world's best-selling antidepressant, appeared to have a similar effect among civilians with post-traumatic stress syndrome, although neither drug appeared to be effective for war combat veterans, a group of people that typically contains many sufferers from the syndrome. Treatments Prove Elusive A treatment for post-traumatic stress syndrome, which first became widely recognized during the Vietnam War, has eluded researchers for years, Brady said, even though many drugs have been tested for their ability to treat the condition. Zoloft, Prozac and SmithKline Beecham Plc's Paxil, the three biggest-selling SSRIs, have been successful in recent years as treatments for depression. Prozac alone generated $2.56 billion in 1997 sales, an industry blockbuster by any standard. Any approval to sell a drug for a new conditions typically boosts the drug's sales, and drugmakers routinely sponsor clinical trials to expand the use of their drugs. SmithKline Beecham, for instance, said this year it planned to seek approval for Paxil to be used as a treatment for social phobia, which doctors say is an irrational fear of strangers or social contact. Only the U.K. has so far approved Paxil to treat social phobia. --Dane Hamilton in Paris, through the London newsroom (44-171) news.com

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (6195)	11/3/1998 4:18:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9523

Pfizer Says It Sold 300,000 Viagra Pills in Switzerland Bloomberg News November 3, 1998, 10:22 a.m. ET Zurich, Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Pfizer (Schweiz) AG, the Swiss unit of U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc., said it sold about 300,000 Viagra pills in the three months since its introduction, in what it said is Switzerland's most successful drug launch to date. The unit of Pfizer Inc., the world's sixth-biggest drugmaker, said the impotency pill generated wholesale revenue of 3 million Swiss francs ($2.2 million) in the first three months. Switzerland was the first European country to approve Viagra, and Pfizer began selling the drug there in June. Viagra was approved for sale in the European Union in September, and has since been introduced in several EU markets. Viagra broke records when it was first introduced in the U.S., though sales slowed in the latest quarter. Switzerland isn't a member of the 15-nation EU. --Reto Gregori and Catherine McLean in the Zurich newsroom (411) More News: PFE news.com

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (6195)	11/3/1998 4:22:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9523

Philippines Gunmen Steal $1.2 Mln of Pfizer's Viagra, AFP Says Bloomberg News November 3, 1998, 10:33 a.m. ET Manila, Philippines, Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Philippines police said hooded gunmen stole $1.2 million worth of Pfizer Inc.'s impotence drug Viagra from the warehouse of Mercury Drug Corp., the Philippines' largest drugstore chain, Agence France- Presse reported, citing police. Fifteen robbers disarmed security guards at the suburban Manila warehouse on Saturday, then loaded the drugs into company vans and escaped. Viagra, which went on sale in the Philippines last week, is priced at $11 a pill, more than twice the daily minimum wage, AFP said. Pfizer said last month that third-quarter sales of Viagra fell to $141 million from $411 million in the second quarter. (AFP 11/3 www.nando.net) -- Dylan Gallagher in the Princeton newsroom (609) 279-4051 /jjs More News: PFE news.com