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

To: John Carpenter who wrote (6653)	1/8/1999 8:05:00 PM
From: BigKNY3	Respond to of 9523

US drug group ebbs on profit taking, Medicare plan NEW YORK, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Shares of large U.S. drug companies slipped Friday, hurt by profit taking and concern about proposed changes to the Medicare payment system, analysts said. The American Stock Exchange Pharmaceutical Index was off about 1.59 percent at 1400 EST/1900 GMT, versus a 0.40 percent rise in the Dow Jones Industrials Average. "It's profit-taking; I don't think anything major is happening to the fundamentals of the drug group," said Sam Isaly of OrbiMed Advisors, a New York-based research group. Isaly said the largest U.S.-based pharmaceutical companies on average saw their stock valuations increase by about 40 percent in 1998, spurred higher by spirited sales of newer prescription drugs. Mehta Partners pharmaceuticals analyst Sergio Traversa said fundamentals of the drug group were improving, predicting that fourth quarter earnings to be reported later this month would be robust for most players. He said Friday's selloff of major drug company stocks might be a delayed reaction to significant Medicare changes proposed by the 17-member National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare, chaired by U.S. Sen. John Breaux, a Louisiana Democrat. Members of the commission on Wednesday recommended that the federal government offer a fixed amount of money to each Medicare beneficiary to buy private health insurance, a change from the current practice of paying separately for each medical service. Under the proposal, Medicare for the first time would cover prescription drugs for many beneficiaries. "That change, if adopted, could put some pressure on drug companies," said Traversa, adding that the government and patients alike might then pay increased attention to drug pricing. Shares of Schering-Plough Corp were off 2-1/2 to 54-5/16, while those of Pfizer Inc eased 2-15/16 to 121-5/8. Diversified healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson slipped 2 to 81-3/16. Eli Lilly and Co fell 3-11/16 to 78-11/16. Bristol-Myers Squibb slumped 1-5/16 to 131-1/16. Merck & Co was down 11/16 to 151-5/8, while American Home Products edged down 1/8 to 55-3/16.

To: John Carpenter who wrote (6653)	1/8/1999 8:10:00 PM
From: BigKNY3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9523

Zonagen Shares Rise on Prospects for Impotence Drug (Update1) Bloomberg News January 8, 1999, 1:53 p.m. PT Washington, Jan. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Zonagen Inc. shares rose 13 percent on positive publicity about the reproductive health product maker's experimental impotence drug. In its January bulletin, the American Association of Retired Persons ran a story suggesting that Zonagen's Vasomax drug may offer a safe alternative to Pfizer Inc.'s blockbuster impotence pill Viagra. Meanwhile, David Steinberg, an analyst with Volpe Brown Whelan, yesterday told his sales force that Zonagen is one of his ''top ideas'' for 1999. Vasomax may not have some of the drug interaction problems seen with Viagra and may work for patients who aren't helped by Viagra, he said. ''Viagra is a good drug, but it's not the wonder drug that everyone thought,'' Steinberg said. Vasomax could ''be deemed more palatable,'' he said. Shares of Zonagen, based in The Woodlands, Texas, rose 3 5/16 to 28 1/8. The shares have climbed steadily from a closing price of 19 1/8 on Dec. 31. Two analysts surveyed by First Call Corp. estimated that the company lost an average of 94 cents per share in 1998. Zonagen and marketing partner Schering-Plough Corp. said they are still awaiting regulatory approvals in the U.S. and elsewhere. The drug is already available in Mexico. Under FDA Review Zonagen filed for U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of Vasomax in July, and Schering-Plough, the world's 13th biggest drugmaker, filed for U.K. approval in August, the companies said. ''We don't make predictions in terms of when the product is going to be approved,'' said William O'Donnell, a spokesman for Madison, New Jersey-based Schering-Plough. Steinberg said he expected FDA approval of Vasomax sometime mid-year. New York-based Pfizer, the world's sixth biggest drugmaker, won FDA approval of Viagra in March, sparking new interest in impotence treatments and a surge of sales for the drug. In the second quarter, Viagra had sales of more than $400 million. The drug's sales then dipped to $141 million in the third quarter. Viagra doesn't work for everyone, and some patients shied away because of reports of the dangers of the drug for certain people, especially those already on heart medications, analysts said. The story in the AARP bulletin said that Vasomax may not interact with these heart drugs, known as nitrates, and may be safer for men with heart problems. Vasomax makes it possible for a man to attain or maintain an erection by increasing blood flow into the genital area and relaxing the smooth muscles of the penis. While Pfizer's Viagra has the same effect, it triggers the blood flow in a different way.