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

To: muddphudd who wrote (1146)	1/22/1999 5:04:00 PM
From: William F. Wager, Jr.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1580

The bad news... Merck & Co. Inc. Dow Jones Newswires -- January 22, 1999 Merck Dn 0.6%;Slips After Depression Drug Candidate Setback NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Merck & Co.'s (MRK) stock turned lower late Friday afternoon following news that the company won't begin Phase III clinical trials for its MK-869 compound for depression at this time. The company cited a high placebo response rate in Phase II trials. The announcement will likely be viewed as a setback to Merck because the potential for MK-869 as a treatment for depression is viewed as a major market for the company. "The market for depression is where the blockbuster is," said HKS & Co. analyst Hemant Shah. After trading in positive territory most of the day and reaching an intraday high of 148, Merck shares turned lower at the close of Friday's session. The stock fell 3 5/16, or 2.3%, to close at 143 on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares continued to fall after hours, trading recently at 140. The news could raise concerns about Merck over the long term, because Wall Street is looking to newer and late-stage products at the Whitehouse Station, N.J., pharmaceutical giant to pad sales when several of its key products go off patent in 2000 and 2001. Merck also said it will begin Phase III studies of MK-869 for chemotherapy-induced vomitting. But that market is not nearly as large as the one for depression, Shah said. In a press release issued Friday, the company said, "The results of the recently completed Phase II dose-finding studies for MK-869 in depression suggest antidepressant activity for at least one of the tested doses, but were not definitive due to a high placebo response rate." The company added that it is "evaluating its options" with respect to developing MK-869, also known as Substance P, for the treatment of depression. Merck also said it is in Phase II dose-finding studies with a more potent Substance P antagonist than MK-869 for the treatment of depression.