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Biotech / Medical : Pharma News Only (pfe,mrk,wla, sgp, ahp, bmy, lly) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Judy who wrote (1101)	11/21/1998 12:48:00 AM
From: silInv	Respond to of 1722

Judy, Just read the summary. I am not going to chase it. Just want to know your opinion since I have seen your past post about IMNX and said this could be $150 stock if the sales is good. Don't know how good is good for you. We will wait until Monday for the data. Will you get back in if the sales is "good"? How about CNTO? Will Remicade help it to prosper like IMNX since it is better than Enbrel? silinv

To: Judy who wrote (1101)	11/23/1998 12:56:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 1722

Immunex Corp. Cut to 'Hold' at Janney Montgomery Bloomberg News November 23, 1998, 8:39 a.m. ET Princeton, New Jersey, Nov. 23 (Bloomberg Data) -- Immunex Corp. (IMNX US) was downgraded to ''hold'' from ''accumulate'' by analyst Heather D. Morris at Janney Montgomery Scott. The 12-month target price is $73.00 per share. -- Andrew Bekoff in Princeton, New Jersey, (609)279-3652 ************************************************************ Judy, CNTO may have problem getting approval for Remicade to treat rheumatic arthritis because of some side effects, so the threat of competition to IMNX is less imminent. news.com^2FGene~IMNX~BLO~324296940~~~~~,00.html

To: Judy who wrote (1101)	11/23/1998 5:31:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1722

Immunex Hits Record High Amid Hopes for Enbrel Sales (Update1) [Judy, Nov. 2 is the date for first scripts report of Enbrel] Bloomberg News November 23, 1998, 5:00 p.m. ET Immunex Hits Record High Amid Hopes for Enbrel Sales (Update1) (Updates with closing stock price.) Seattle, Nov. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Immunex Corp. shares rose to a record high, gaining 5.8 percent, amid hopes for strong sales of its new rheumatoid arthritis drug Enbrel, introduced earlier this month. Shares in Immunex, majority owned by American Home Products Corp., rose 5 1/8 to 92 in trading of 1.62 million, more than twice the three-month daily average. Earlier they touched a record high of 94 7/8. Investors have high hopes for Enbrel, a breakthrough bioengineered drug that's been shown to relieve symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis in patients who have failed on other therapies for the debilitating disease. Immunex shares have soared 70 percent this year amid expectations the drug will be a blockbuster, with some analysts forecasting peak annual sales in excess of $1 billion. ''I think there's a lot of potential out there for Enbrel,'' said Heather Morris, an analyst with Janney Montgomery Scott. ''The company has done a very good job of marketing.'' IMS Health, a firm that tracks data on pharmaceutical sales, was expected to release its first report on sales of Enbrel, which won U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval on Nov. 2. Officials at IMS weren't immediately able to provide data on Enbrel prescriptions. Immunex Chief Executive Edward Fritzky declined to comment on today's rally, saying its his policy not to discuss fluctuations in the company's share price. New Class of Drugs Enbrel is among the first of a new class of drugs to combat inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis by blocking a naturally occurring compound called tumor necrosis factor. Morris today cut her recommendation on Immunex shares to ''hold'' from ''accumulate,'' saying news of Enbrel's approval and launch have buoyed the stock price above her 12-month target price of $73. Shares in money-losing Immunex have risen from a 52-week low of 49 7/8 in early October -- about a month before the drug was cleared for sale. Analysts say Enbrel's approval will allow the company to report a profit next year. Enbrel is competing with older drugs and Hoechst AG's Arava. Arava is a pill recently approved to slow the progression of rheumatoid arthritis that's similar to methotrexate, a generic drug that is now the standard of care for patients with the disease. Centocor Inc., a biotechnology company with three products on the market, is also seeking approval to market its Crohn's disease drug Remicade as a rheumatoid-arthritis treatment. Centocor shares fell 3 3/16 to 42 3/4. Malvern, Pennsylvania-based Centocor last week disclosed that it had warned doctors about side effects in people who resumed treatment with its Remicade drug for a bowel disorder after being taken off the drug. The side effects, including muscular pain, rash, fever and swelling, required the hospitalization of 15 percent of patients in a study of an experimental version of the drug. American Home Products rose 3/4 to 53 5/8. --Jim Finkle in the Washington newsroom (202) 624-1937 with