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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 (1305)	1/15/1999 7:16:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 1722

Diabetes Drug Targets Hispanics Friday January 15 2:15 AM ET By LAURAN NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The ad for a controversial diabetes drug targets Hispanics, who are at high risk for diabetes, and touts the drug in Spanish: ''I only have to take Rezulin once a day, which really makes my life easier,'' the smiling diabetic says. Turn the magazine page and there is the ad's official warning that Rezulin may cause liver failure. But the text is in English. The Rezulin campaign is the latest in an explosion of prescription drug advertising aimed at patients, $620 million worth in the first half of 1998 alone. Turn on the TV or open a magazine and you are sure to find advertising of prescription drugs for whatever ails you. Allergy sufferers scale mountain peaks with Zyrtec. Valtrex touts help for genital herpes with just one dose a day. The morning you forget your keys you spot the Aricept ad: ''Is it just forgetfulness... or Alzheimer's disease?'' Even former presidential candidate Bob Dole is pitching prescriptions, on soon-to-debut TV ads for the impotence pill Viagra. Doctors say the ads cause them a headache. ''Everybody's looking for the magic bullet,'' said Dr. Edward Hill, a family physician in Tupelo, Miss. He helped compile a new American Medical Association report that found doctors are ''bombarded with misinformed requests for prescriptions, and met with suspicion and hostility when they deny the request.'' A survey of 2,500 doctors by IMS Health found 53 percent had a ''significant increase'' in patients requesting prescriptions by brand name last year. Most popular: Claritin for allergies, long the most advertised drug; Viagra; and allergy competitor Allegra. The drug industry says ads are valuable because they alert consumers to medicines they might otherwise never know about - and anyway, doctors still control prescriptions. ''At their best, ads can also help patients to recognize symptoms and prompt them to tell their doctors,'' Richard Jay Kogan, chairman of Claritin manufacturer Schering-Plough Corp. (NYSE:SGP - news), wrote in a recent editorial. Some do stress risks. After touting Propecia, the anti-baldness pill for men, a stern voice on the TV ad warns women not to even touch the pills for fear of birth defects. But ads full of smiling, healthy-looking people imply ''it's a wonder drug, and downplays the side effects,'' said the AMA's Hill. He has told patients that a drug on TV ''may be exactly the same class of drug they already take and not as good.'' Nor are doctors infallible. A study of ads in the medical journals doctors read found inaccuracies and misleading statements that could lead to improper prescriptions in 44 percent of cases. Add patients demanding a highly advertised drug, and the result can be dangerous, contends Dr. Sidney Wolfe of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen. He cites the Spanish Rezulin ad accompanied by the warning label in English, and asked the Food and Drug Administration to make manufacturer Parke Davis run a correction. ''It clearly was an inadvertent error'' by the company's outside advertising agency that already has been fixed, said spokeswoman Carol Goodrich. Although the ads appeared in bilingual publications, ''this is something we do not do.'' Ensuring drug ads are accurate is the FDA's job, but it typically does not see ads before they're published. The FDA agrees fair advertising can educate, and the agency actually sparked the ad boom two years ago by easing restrictions on TV ads. Since then, the FDA counts 29 prescription drugs advertised on TV. The FDA has warned their makers 17 times about violations such as downplaying risks or stretching benefits. One TV allergy ad, for example, read the drug's side effects so fast consumers could not hear them. But ''most of the information is pretty decent,'' insists FDA's Nancy Ostrove. Still, to discover what consumers learn from drug ads, the FDA is preparing a nationwide survey that may guide how it ultimately regulates them. Hill, meanwhile, says doctors must frankly discuss drug choices with patients - and research the facts behind ads. He did that, and thus said OK when an allergy patient requested Allegra. ''It did influence me,'' he said. ''But the evidence was very, very good.'' - EDITOR'S NOTE - Lauran Neergaard covers health and medical issues for The Associated Press in Washington.

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (1305)	1/15/1999 7:20:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1722

Researchers Develop Viagra Spray Friday January 15 3:33 AM ET By TIM WHITMIRE Associated Press Writer LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Can't wait an hour for that kick from Viagra? Two researchers from the University of Kentucky say they've come up with a nasal spray that could cut the time it takes for Viagra to work to five to 15 minutes. ''We feel because of the nature of Viagra's use that people don't want to wait an hour for results,'' said Lewis Dittert, one of the researchers. The impotency treatment pill debuted spectacularly last year, leading to millions of prescriptions and almost as many jokes. Sales have leveled off. When used correctly, Viagra is extremely effective, allowing men to achieve an erection 60 to 70 percent of the time within an hour of taking the blue pills that sell for about $10 each. Dittert and his UK College of Pharmacy colleague, Anwar Hussein, say the nasal spray brings Viagra in contact with mucous membranes, getting the active ingredient, sildenafil, into the bloodstream more quickly. The pill must reach the small intestines before it can be absorbed. So far, the researchers say, they haven't been able to generate any interest from the drug's manufacturer, Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - news) ''They said, 'We're looking at it, we'll call you,''' Dittert said. ''We're not trying to horn in on their patent. We just think we've got a better mousetrap, and we think they ought to be interested in it.'' Pfizer spokeswoman Mariann Caprino said the company is ''always interested in advancing our medicines ... in a way that makes the medicine more patient-friendly. We certainly don't want to rule out any advance.''