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

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (869)	1/13/1999 1:54:00 PM
From: John F Beule	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2539

Wood Worldwide to Handle Development of CELEBREX NEW YORK, Jan. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Searle, the pharmaceutical division of Monsanto, retained Wood Worldwide for the global development and testing of the brand name CELEBREX. According to David Wood, Chairman, "We are pleased to have been selected by Searle to develop the branding for their blockbuster entry into the multi-billion dollar Rx anti-arthritis and pain reliever market." In the past 18 months, Wood Worldwide has developed the global brand names for ENBREL, the much-anticipated new arthritis medication from Immunex and American Home Products; XELODA, Roche's exciting new drug for breast cancer; and VIAGRA, the breakthrough erectile dysfunction drug from Pfizer. "It's a sign of the times in this industry," said David Wood, "that these four drugs alone may have worldwide sales approaching $6 or $7 billion by 2001-2002." SOURCE Wood Worldwide CO: Wood Worldwide; Searle; Monsanto ST: New York IN: MTC ADV SU: 01/13/99 09:00 EST prnewswire.com -and- Monsanto plans to auction algin business ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - Life sciences firm Monsanto Co. said Wednesday it plans to auction its algin business, which makes products used in food, pharmaceutical and industrial applications, as part of a plan to finance more than $6 billion in seed company acquisitions. In a statement, the maker of Roundup herbicide, Nutrasweet artificial sweetener and many other products, said it is in the process of identifying prospective buyers for the algin unit and will hold an auction in early 1999. Analysts had speculated that the algin business would come up for sale after Monsanto said in November it would divest some non-core assets as it completed several major planned acquisitions. At that time, Monsanto said the asset sales would generate at least $1 billion. ''Although the algin business is less critically strategic to Monsanto's long-term vision, it is a viable business and has a long-standing history of industry leadership,'' Arnold Donald, co-president of Monsanto's nutrition and consumer business unit, said in a statement. ''We're now beginning the process of identifying the components of a sale transaction, as well as a list of prospective buyers,'' he said. ''We should command a good value for this business.'' Algin is made from seaweed and is useful for its stabilizing, suspending and gelling properties in food, pharmaceuticals and industrial applications. It can be used in such products as ice cream, cosmetic creams and pastes. Shares of Monsanto were up $2 to $43.81 per share in afternoon New York Stock Exchange trading. 13:17 01-13-99 Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.