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

To: BigKNY3 who wrote (6202)	11/4/1998 10:29:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 9523

Bloomberg report with analyst's comment: Hoechst, Pfizer to Jointly Develop Insulin Products (Update1) Bloomberg News November 4, 1998, 10:01 a.m. ET Hoechst, Pfizer to Jointly Develop Insulin Products (Update1) (Adds analyst's comment in 4th paragraph, details.) Frankfurt, Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Hoechst AG, Germany's biggest drugmaker, said it and Pfizer Inc. agreed jointly to develop a form of insulin that can be inhaled, to challenge insulin market leaders Novo Nordisk A/S and Eli Lilly & Co. Both currently are developing such an insulin to treat people suffering from type I and type II diabetes. The two companies said they will build one of the world's largest insulin-making factories in Frankfurt, employing about 200 people. Hoechst and Pfizer, the world's No. 6 in drugs, didn't disclose financial details of their agreement. Diabetes is a chronic disorder characterized by the body's inability properly to regulate blood-sugar levels. Pfizer and Hoechst Marion Roussel, the drug unit of Hoechst, are aiming for a bigger share of the $2.5 billion market for diabetes drugs. ''It's a logical move and a great symbiotic relationship,'' said Franc Gregori, an analyst at BNP Equity Research in London. ''Pfizer doesn't have the insulin technology background but it has a nasal-spray drug-delivery system, while Hoechst has the insulin knowhow.'' Hoechst shares rose 2.19 deutsche marks to 72.75 marks, while Pfizer rose 5/8 to 109 7/8 in New York. Pfizer, which makes the blockbuster impotency drug Viagra, is developing its inhaled insulin product with Inhale Therapeutic Systems of San Carlos, California. ''This dynamic alliance offers Hoechst Marion Roussel an ideal opportunity to use its expertise in insulin, its modern production technology and its global business network to produce a major breakthrough for diabetics,'' Hoechst Marion Roussel chief executive Richard Markham said in a statement. Patients with type I diabetes -- the most severe kind, which is also known as juvenile-onset diabetes -- are dependent on insulin. Type II diabetes, known as mature-onset diabetes, is less severe and may not require treatment with insulin. --Phyllis Carter in the Frankfurt newsroom (49-69) 92041-200/ab More News: PFE