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Biotech / Medical : Monsanto Co. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John F Beule who wrote (733)	12/8/1998 4:57:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2539

Merck has an analyst meeting tomorrow (details in the DJ article below). CNBC reported on expectation that Merck may announce whether Vioxx got priority approval from the FDA or not. Analysts Hope Merck Will Release More Details About Upcoming Drugs December 08, 1998 4:15 PM NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Merck & Co.'s stock has rallied in the past few weeks in part because of investor anticipation about the drug giant's annual business briefing Wednesday, analysts said. Information about Merck's development pipeline is at the top of the list for analysts attending the meeting at the company's headquarters in Whitehouse Station, N.J. Merck has several key drugs that go off patent in 2000 and 2001, and some investors have voiced concern about how the company will sustain growth in lieu of this. "The expectations for this meeting are very high," said HKS & Co. analyst Hemant Shah, who said the company has typically conducted positive annual meetings for securities analysts. "We'd like to certainly see an update on some products where there's not a whole lot of data available," said CIBC Oppenheimer Corp. analyst Mara Goldstein. "Certainly, there's a lot of anticipation on Vioxx," she said. The potential blockbuster treatment for arthritis and pain was recently submitted to the Food and Drug Administration for approval. Vioxx belongs to a class of medicines known as COX-2 inhibitors. They don't cause the same gastrointestinal side effects as other pain killers because they spare an enzyme that protects the stomach. The FDA recently cleared the first drug in that class, Monsanto Co.'s Celebrex. Upcoming patent expirations include the antacid Pepcid and hypertension drug Vasotec. Losec, or Prilosec as its known in the U.S., is another drug going off patent. The drug is sold through a joint venture with Astra AB. Merck has launched several drugs within the last year that aimed to protect revenue from the upcoming patents expirations, but their performance has been mixed. Singulair, a once-a-day tablet to treat chronic asthma in adults and children, "looks to be off to a good start," said PaineWebber Inc. analyst Jeffrey Chaffkin. The drug sold $55 million in the third quarter, with $41 million of that coming from the U.S. But sales of Propecia, a tablet launched in January to treat male pattern hair loss, and Maxalt, used to treat migraine headaches, have disappointed, analysts said. Sales of the drugs during the third quarter were $24 million and $15 million, respectively. Merck has a reputation among some on Wall Street of being relatively tight-lipped about early-stage development. At its business briefing last year, the company announced for the first time that it had conducted Phase IIa clinical trials for the novel compound MK-869 for depression. The company said then that Phase IIb trials would begin "shortly." Analysts said they expect an update on the development of this compound, along with data on any other developments in the company's pipeline. Shares of Merck reached a 52-week high of $160 on Nov. 24. On Nov. 19, just one week earlier, the shares had closed at $150.313. Near the close Tuesday, the shares were at $158.188. An estimate of analysts surveyed by First Call puts Merck's 1998 earnings at $4.97 a share. - Melanie Trottman; 201-938-5287 Copyright (c) 1998 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. - - 03 44 PM EST 12-08-98