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

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (1168)	12/2/1998 9:52:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1722

Lilly's Evista Reduces Risk of Spine Fractures, Study Indicates Bloomberg News December 2, 1998, 4:34 p.m. ET Lilly's Evista Reduces Risk of Spine Fractures, Study Indicates Indianapolis, Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Eli Lilly & Co. said a study indicates its bone-protecting drug Evista reduces the risk of spine fractures in older women, a finding that may help Lilly in its effort to turn the pill into a blockbuster drug. Lilly, the world's 10th largest drugmaker, introduced Evista in January. Lilly needs new products to offset the loss of patent in a few years on its antidepressant Prozac. Prozac made up 30 percent of Lilly's 1997 revenue of $8.52 billion. In a study of more than 7,000 women, about 6 percent of those given Evista developed spine fractures. Of those given placebo, 10 percent developed them. Spine fractures are one of the first signs of thinning of the bones. The fractures help cause the hump or hunching of the back seen in some older women. This study, which will continue, is only part of the work Lilly must do to make Evista a challenger to Merck & Co.'s similar drug, Fosamax. ''Evista has to kick in because Prozac is going to lose its patent as some point,'' said Hemant Shah, an independent drug analyst. ''It's going to be difficult to show effectiveness over Fosamax.'' Shares of Lilly, based in Indianapolis, fell 1 3/8 to 88 7/8. Merck's three-year-old Fosamax had sales of $540 million as of September, up from 1997 sales of $532 million. Introduced in January, Evista has had sales of about $82 million, disappointing Lilly and investors. Evista is approved in the U.S. only for the prevention of thinning of the bones, a condition known as osteoporosis. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Merck's Fosamax for both prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. To seek a similar FDA approval, Lilly is conducting these fracture studies. Lilly presented its research today at a medical conference in San Francisco for doctors specializing in bone disorders. Merck and other rival drugmakers also will present research at this meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research. The conferences allow drugmakers to promote their products to doctors. Multiple Benefits The key for making Evista a blockbuster for Lilly will be showing that the drug has several benefits, such as reducing breast-cancer risk as well as protecting bone, Shah said. Lilly will present data at a meeting in San Antonio next week from its research into use of Evista to prevent breast cancer. Lilly also is studying whether Evista can help prevent heart disease in older women. Evista is the first of a new class of drugs that have been called ''estrogen light.'' While Merck's drug treats bones, Lilly's offers some of the benefits of estrogen with fewer side effects. Evista appears to work by acting on some of the body parts estrogen helps, such as bones and the heart. Its chemical shape, though, may block estrogen in the uterus and the breast. Long- term use of estrogen may be linked to breast cancer. Similar Products Other drugmakers are trying to make similar products. SmithKline Beecham Plc has a drug in the last of three stages of testing required to apply for FDA approval. Pfizer has two likely compounds for its 'estrogen light' drug. It intends to put the better of these two into the last stage of testing last year needed to apply for U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval. These drugs also don't have some of the benefits of replacement estrogen therapy, such as easing symptoms of menopause. --Kerry Dooley in the Princeton newsroom (609) 279-4016 /mfr