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

To: BigKNY3 who wrote (6330)	11/21/1998 1:22:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9523

BigKNY3, it's good to have Mr. Peabody back again! He has been greatly missed.

To: BigKNY3 who wrote (6330)	11/23/1998 2:08:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9523

Pfizer Inc. Reiterated 'Strong Buy' at SG Cowen Bloomberg News November 23, 1998, 12:33 p.m. ET Princeton, New Jersey, Nov. 23 (Bloomberg Data) -- Pfizer Inc. (PFE US) was reiterated ''strong buy'' by analyst Stephen Scala at SG Cowen. -- Andrew Bekoff in Princeton, New Jersey, (609)279-3652

To: BigKNY3 who wrote (6330)	11/23/1998 7:29:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 9523

11/23 18:00 Merck Submits New Drug Application for Vioxx(TM), An Investigational <MRK.N> Merck Submits New Drug Application for Vioxx(TM), An Investigational COX-2 Specific Inhibitor WEST POINT, Pa., Nov. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK) today announced it has submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) a New Drug Application for Vioxx(TM) (rofecoxib), an investigational once-daily, anti-inflammatory COX-2 specific inhibitor for the treatment of osteoarthritis and pain. COX-2 specific inhibitors are being studied to determine whether the apparent difference in how they work may result in fewer certain serious gastrointestinal side effects than nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which are medications that are currently available for the treatment of osteoarthritis and pain. Merck's application includes results from 68 studies in nearly 10,000 patients that evaluated Vioxx for the treatment of the signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis and for the relief of pain. Within the next 60 days, the FDA will determine whether or not it will accept Merck's application as submitted. Merck expects to begin to file similar regulatory applications for Vioxx, worldwide, by the end of the year. Merck scientists have contributed to many important scientific discoveries in the treatment of pain and inflammation of arthritis over the past sixty years. Merck & Co., Inc. is a global research-driven pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of human and animal health products, directly and through its joint ventures, and provides pharmaceutical benefit services through Merck-Medco Managed Care. Vioxx(TM) is the Merck trademark for rofecoxib. SOURCE Merck & Co., Inc. -0- 11/23/98 /CONTACT: Media, Kyra Lindemann, 215-652-6931, or Investor, Laura Jordan, 908-423-5185, both for Merck/ -- PHM051 -- 8859 11/23/98 17:30 EST prnewswire.com Copyright PR Newswire 1998. All rights reserved. moneynet.com@NEWS-P2&Index=1&HeadlineURL=../News/NewsHeadlines.asp&DISABLE_FORM=&NAVSVC=News\Company

To: BigKNY3 who wrote (6330)	11/23/1998 7:34:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 9523

11/23 18:09 Merck<MRK.N> files osteoarthritis drug application WEST POINT, Pa., Nov. 23 (Reuters) - Pharmaceutical Merck & Co. Inc. said Monday it submitted a new drug application for Vioxx -- an investigational once-daily, anti-inflammatory tablet for the treatment of osteoarthritis and pain -- with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The company said so-called COX-2 specific inhibitors are being studied to determine whether the apparent difference in how they work may result in fewer gastrointestinal side effects than nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are drugs that are currently available for the treatment of osteoarthritis and pain, it said. The company said its application includes results from 68 studies in nearly 10,000 patients that evaluated Vioxx for the treatment of the signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis and for the relief of pain. Within 60 days, the FDA will determine whether or not it will accept Merck's application as submitted, the company said. Merck said it expects to begin to file similar regulatory applications for Vioxx worldwide by the end of the year. moneynet.com@NEWS-P2&Index=0&HeadlineURL=../News/NewsHeadlines.asp&DISABLE_FORM=&NAVSVC=News\Company

To: BigKNY3 who wrote (6330)	11/24/1998 5:59:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 9523

AP: FDA Issues New Viagra Warnings Tuesday November 24 5:44 PM ET By LAURAN NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The Food and Drug Administration issued new warnings about the popular impotence drug Viagra on Tuesday, saying that doctors should be cautious about prescribing it to whole groups of men, including those who recently had heart attacks or have very high blood pressure. Some 130 Americans who took Viagra have died since the drug hit the market last spring, the majority from heart attacks, the FDA said. There's no proof Viagra caused the deaths, the FDA stressed. Heart disease kills hundreds of Americans daily, and manufacturer Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - news) estimates that 6 million prescriptions have been filled since April and that 3 million Americans use it. Still, the FDA notified doctors Tuesday that Pfizer was changing the drug's label to add more explicit warnings. ''We want to make sure people are aware there are some men (for whom) it's not advisable,'' said the FDA's Dr. Lisa Rarick. But if used by the right men, she said, ''we still believe it's safe and effective.'' Viagra's label already stressed that anyone who takes itrate-containing medicines, such as the heart drug nitroglycerin, should never take Viagra. The mix can cause a deadly drop in blood pressure. It also can cause vision problems. But added to Viagra's label were warnings that: -The FDA has received reports of heart attacks, sudden cardiac deaths and hypertension among Viagra users. -Doctors should be cautious about prescribing Viagra to men who had a heart attack, stroke or life-threatening arrhythmia in the last six months, or who have significantly low blood pressure, significantly high blood pressure - greater than 170/110, a history of cardiac failure or unstable angina or the eye disease retinitis pigmentosa. Viagra has never been studied in men with these conditions, so no one knows its safety. -Sexual activity itself is risky for certain men with cardiovascular disease; and for those men, Viagra obviously ''is inadvisable.'' -Doctors should consider whether temporary drops in blood pressure caused by Viagra, especially during sexual activity, would harm a heart patient before prescribing him the drug. -The FDA has received reports of men suffering painful, prolonged erections after taking Viagra. An erection that lasts longer than four hours requires prompt medical attention. Impotence often is a symptom of underlying heart disease or high blood pressure, or even a side effect from drugs used to treat those conditions. Thus, Pfizer stressed Tuesday that men seeking Viagra first need a full medical exam. But a consumer advocate long critical of Viagra called the warnings inadequate, saying Britain two months ago barred men who had had heart attacks or strokes from using Viagra while the FDA just urges cautious consideration of those men. ''FDA's dangerous collaboration with Pfizer, resulting in inadequate warnings, will help maintain sales of Viagra while jeopardizing the health of American men,'' said Dr. Sidney Wolfe of Public Citizen, who said there is no way to know how many men may have suffered side effects. ''This is a drug that affects blood vessels all over the body.'' The FDA has reports of 242 possible deaths among Viagra users, but only could verify that 130 occurred among Americans. The rest were foreign reports or hearsay, Rarick said. dailynews.yahoo.com