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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 (1372)	1/28/1999 7:53:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 1722

Eli Lilly sets $1 bln stock buyback biz.yahoo.com

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (1372)	1/28/1999 7:56:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 1722

[AHP IMNX] U.S. Study Finds New Drug Helps Arthritis Sufferers dailynews.yahoo.com

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (1372)	1/28/1999 8:00:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 1722

LLY earnings: biz.yahoo.com biz.yahoo.com

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (1372)	1/28/1999 8:05:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1722

Eli Lilly Fourth-Quarter Profit Rises 24%, Led by Prozac, Zyprexa Sales Bloomberg News January 28, 1999, 7:24 a.m. ET Eli Lilly 4th-Quarter Profit Rises 24%, Led by Prozac (Update1) (Adds company comment in 4th paragraph, share buyback in 6th paragraph, product sales in 7th paragraph.) Indianapolis, Jan. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Eli Lilly & Co., the maker of Prozac, the world's best-selling antidepressant, said fourth-quarter profit rose 24 percent on increased sales of Prozac and its schizophrenia drug, Zyprexa. Net income for the world's 10th-largest drugmaker rose to $567.3 million, or 51 cents a share, from $457.5 million, or 40 cents, a year earlier. Sales rose 17 percent to $2.64 billion. Prozac sales rose 8 percent to $744.5 million. In the fourth quarter, Lilly took several steps to focus on introducing potential blockbuster drugs and making the most of its current top-seller. It agreed to sell its pharmacy-benefit unit to Rite-Aid Corp. for $1.6 billion. Lilly also entered an agreement with Sepracor Inc. to work on an improved version of Prozac, which will lose patent protection sometime after 2001. ''Overall in 1998, we were able to further position Lilly as a leader in the pharmaceutical industry and lay the groundwork for additional success in the coming years,'' said Sidney Taurel, Lilly's chairman, president and chief executive, in a statement. Lilly, based in Indianapolis, rose 1 1/4 to 90 3/4 yesterday while setting a 52-week high of 91 15/16 earlier in the session. Lilly said it intends to buy back $1 billion in stock by the end of the year. In December 1998, the company completed a $2 billion share repurchase program that was announced in May. Evista Last year, Lilly's introduction of a new drug, Evista, to prevent thinning of bones in older women fell short of expectations. As a result, Lilly shares rose 28 percent in 1998 to 88 7/8, lagging the 49-percent return of the Standard & Poor's Drugs Index. Evista fourth-quarter sales totaled $62.8 million. Sales of the schizophrenia medicine Zyprexa rose 62 percent to $432.2 million. Sales of the cancer drug Gemzar rose 78 percent to $95.1 million. Lilly has turned to television advertising to boost Prozac sales as the drug faces more competition from American Home Products Corp.'s antidepressant Effexor XR and Celexa, a drug sold by Forest Laboratories Inc. and Warner-Lambert Co. The ad campaign helped boost sales of Lilly's 11-year-old blockbuster antidepressant. The ads, which have appeared on CNBC, discuss depression and do not mention Prozac specifically. U.S. Prozac sales rose 10 percent to $600.3 million. Outside of the U.S., sales were little changed at $144.2 million. --Kerry Dooley in the Princeton newsroom (609) 279-4000