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

To: chirodoc who wrote (1138)	11/24/1998 11:48:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1722

LLY - Gruntal & Co. upgrades pharmaceutical concern from "hold" to "buy" on a more favorable outlook for its recent divestitures of its pharmacy benefits subsidiary, higher profit margins, a stronger cash position, and its transformation to a pure drug company; establishes a new price target of $108 a share..... {From Sonki's post at the MRK thread}

To: chirodoc who wrote (1138)	11/24/1998 5:23:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1722

Pfizer's Zoloft Effective for Obsessive-Compulsive Kids Bloomberg News November 24, 1998, 1:47 p.m. PT Pfizer's Zoloft Effective for Obsessive-Compulsive Kids Chicago, Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Pfizer Inc.'s depression drug Zoloft is a safe and effective treatment for children with obsessive-compulsive disorder, a new study shows. Although the drug is widely used for adults with obsessive- compulsive disorder, known as OCD, this is the first large clinical trial in children and adolescents. OCD affects about one in 200 children, causing persistent and irrational worries that trigger repetitive behavior like hand washing to alleviate the concerns. Dr. John S. March from Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, and his colleagues gave the drug or placebo to 187 patients for 12 weeks. The superiority of Zoloft was seen for most patients at about the third week of treatment, with 42 percent on the drug ''very much or much improved,'' compared with 26 percent on placebo. The average patient remained mildly ill even after taking Zoloft, the researchers said, recommending a combination of drug therapy and psychotherapy for children with the disease. Side effects, including insomnia, nausea, agitation and tremor, also were significantly more common among treated patients. ''Although current treatments are not generally curative, given a correct diagnosis and skillful treatment most children and adolescents with OCD will improve considerably,'' they said. The study, sponsored by New York-based Pfizer, appears in tomorrow's Journal of the American Medical Association. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is pushing pharmaceutical companies to test products in children since most new drugs get to the market without conclusive proof of safety and effectiveness for younger users. Doctors nonetheless prescribe the drugs for kids because newer products often are considered superior. Eli Lilly & Co.'s Prozac, SmithKline Beecham Plc's Paxil and Forest Laboratories Inc.'s Celexa, also marketed by Warner- Lambert Co., all work in similar ways to Zoloft and together dominate the $8.4 billion worldwide market for depression drugs. --Michelle Fay Cortez in Ithaca, New York (607) 272-1174, through

To: chirodoc who wrote (1138)	11/24/1998 5:59:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 1722

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