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

To: Dan Spillane who wrote (1012)	1/27/1999 7:21:00 PM
From: jopawa	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 2539

I went to Cal and don't know ag real well, but I've run two small businesses and the gov could care less whether or not I went bust, even though both were "family businesses". People should wake up and let the "family farm" live or die in the market place like everybody else. Does anyone think the government gives a rat's a&% whether Home Depot puts some small hardware company out of business? Go CAL!! John

To: Dan Spillane who wrote (1012)	1/28/1999 9:15:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 2539

01/28 08:28 INTERVIEW-Monsanto urges EU to adopt biotech farming By Andrew Osborn BRUSSELS, Jan 28 (Reuters) - The European Union risks missing out if its Agenda 2000 reforms fail to incorporate biotechnology in the approach to reshaping European farming, a Monsanto Europe SA executive said on Thursday. "We think the increased productivity, size neutrality and the environmental aspects of new technology would all benefit European agriculture," Tom McDermott, Public Affairs Director of Monsanto Europe, part of U.S.-based life sciences giant Monsanto Co <MTC.N>, told Reuters in a telephone interview. He declined to comment on the detailed proposals currently under discussion at a ministerial level, saying Monsanto preferred to leave such matters to the various trade groups. "New technology could play a major role in European agriculture. This is one of the things that hasn't really been talked about in the Agenda 2000 reforms so far," McDermott said. The reform package proposes cutting the EU's internal prices for cereals, beef and dairy by up to 30 percent and is designed to prepare the bloc for its planned eastward expansion and a new round of global trade talks, in which agricultural subsidies will be under attack. But according to McDermott it does little to factor in the advent of potentially revolutionary farming technology such as genetically-modified organisms (GMOs). North and South America have been quicker to harness the potential of "agri-technology", he said. Environmental and consumer groups in Europe have led a campaign against the introduction of the new GMO strains of oilseeds and cereals, claiming not enough is known about the potential side-effects of gene-altered food. U.S. farmers have also been under pressure to segregate the new strains, something they believe would be too costly to implement. Monsanto is a leading producer of new genetically modified crop strains and special herbicides that accompany them. McDermott said farmers could boost productivity and profit margins by using new more efficient seed varieties with higher yields. And new technology also reduced the need for pesticides and herbicides that can harm the environment since it allows scientists to develop more eco-friendly crop treatments. "There is this idea that the farmer is the steward of the land and I know a lot of people say this for other reasons. I think it is nonetheless true that European agriculture is sensitive about the issue of the environment," he said. A recent study had proved that pesticide use could be dramatically reduced if farmers planted genetically-modified corn instead of traditional varieties, he said. If the "16 corn states" in the United States, responsible for some 90 percent of the country's corn production, gave over four fifths of their area under cultivation to "BT corn" pesticide use could be cut from 14.2 million pounds (64,500 tonnes) to 2.9 million (13,170 tonnes), he said. But although Europe's farmers were keen to embrace new technology European consumers were less sure, primarily because of a lack of proper information, he added. "End-users do not understood the EU's approval process for genetically-modified organisms as well as they could but the EU's regulatory apparatus is adequate. People don't realise there is a tremendous amount of work involved in it," he said. McDermott also said he was unhappy with the speed of the approval process for GMOs which was not as smooth or quick as it should be. (Brussels newsroom, +32 2 287 6842, fax +32 2 230 5573, Andrew.Osborn@reuters.com))

To: Dan Spillane who wrote (1012)	1/30/1999 8:46:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 2539

01/29 23:54 CORRECTED - INTERVIEW-Searle defends Celebrex safety -2- In Chicago story headlined "INTERVIEW-Searle defends Celebrex safety" read in first paragraph ...rebutted published reports... instead of ...refuted published reports... (Clarifies that the nature of the company's challenge) A corrected version follows. CHICAGO, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Monsanto Co.'s <MTC.N> pharmaceutical unit Searle on Friday rebutted published reports that the Cox-2 series of drugs, which includes Searle's Celebrex arthritis drug, may elevate the risk of cardiovascular problems in patients that take them. In an interview, Searle's executive director of the Cox-2 technology program, Dr. Peter Isakson, said Searle and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found no elevated risk in nearly 10,000 patients studied. "We don't think this is a concern," Isakson said. "Nothing we've seen in our database says it's a concern." The reports stemmed from a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. Isakson said that while the study itself did not show an elevated cardiovascular risk, the headline of news release related to the study and put out by the University of Pennsylvania, where the study was carried out, suggested it. In fact, Isakson said the study was included in Searle's data, which it used to gain FDA approval for the drug. He said the hypothesis of increased clotting risk has existed for many years but has never been substantiated. "The press release doesn't really reflect what was in the study," Isakson said. Celebrex is the first of a new breed of Cox-2 drugs to be approved by the FDA. It was designed to treat pain and arthritis without causing serious gastrointestinal side effects often seen in drugs such as aspirin and ibuprofen. The news release said that the Cox-2 drugs, known as "super aspirins," inhibit the Cox-2 enzyme that triggers pain, but not the Cox-1 enzyme that protects the lining of the stomach. It said, however, that Cox-2 inhibitors also suppress a hormone-like substance that inhibits blood clotting. Dangerous clotting can result in heart attacks or stroke. The news release, in effect, calls for additional testing on a wider scale. Isakson said Searle is currently carrying out another study which will investigate on a larger scale the effects of Celebrex on the gastrointestinal tract and will also look at cardiovascular risks. Celebrex carries a label advising patients taking the drug to be alert for gastrointestinal side effects, and Searle hopes this study will give it the data needed to remove it. Searle expects to report back to the FDA in the "near to mid term," Isakson said. "In fact we'll keep track of all safety around the patients taking the drug." Isakson said. "We'll monitor cardiovascular just like we monitor all the safety around Celebrex." Shares of Monsanto traded unchanged at $46.81 each. moneynet.com@NEWS-P1&Index=0&HeadlineURL=../News/NewsHeadlines.asp&DISABLE_FORM=&NAVSVC=News\Company