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Biotech / Medical : PFE (Pfizer) How high will it go? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: BigKNY3 who wrote (6890)	1/31/1999 10:56:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 9523

Japan's traditional impotency cures bow to Viagra by Miwa Suzuki TOKYO, Jan 31 (AFP) - Viagra, already a hot black-market item in Japan before its official release, is threatening sales here of tiger and seal testicles, vipers and turtles. Already approved for prescription-based sales here, the diamond-shaped blue Viagra pills spell disaster for the Japanese anti-impotence industry, serving an estimated seven million men. Japanese authorities last week approved Pfizer Inc.'s Viagra for sale after a six-month review, but its reputation has fed an appetite for the black market since mid-1998. The blow to the traditional trade is likely to help the future of endangered animals but declining sales are punishing the entire industry, including producers of a silicon-based contraption, Stand-up. The Viagra frenzy has left sales of Stand-up limping. The silicon cylinder increases blood pressure and "assists male functions", according to the advertising. Tokyo-based Sokendo sells the Stand-up device, patented 15 years ago, for impotent men but admits its business has suffered since last year. "It's disastrous," said Sokendo chief consultant Minoru Watahiki. "Our sales have plunged below half of their peak level," he lamented, saying his firm used to sell 500 of the 30,000-yen (260-dollar) devices a month. More than 90 percent of Sokendo's customers are men in their 60s or older, with the oldest client aged 88. More ancient cures, most based on Chinese medicine, are also being swept aside. Akahige Pharmacy sells various powders with professed aphrodisiac effects, such as "Great Emperor" and "Unequalled Energy". Ryuko Gen (Dragon-Tiger Resource), made of the penises and testicles of Bengal tigers and fur seals as well as other animal ingredients, is priced at 144,000 yen (1,250 dollars) for 50 grams (1.75 ounces) -- a 40-day program. Viagra "will affect our sales", an Akahige official admitted. But it may also help open up discussion of sex and promote anti-impotence sales in general, he added. Hiroshi Katsumata, the chief doctor at Tokyo's Life Clinic handling so-called anti-aging drugs, said sales of traditional medicines and devices "are bound to drop as Viagra is made by a trustworthy company". "Even if you turn 60 or 70, you want to 'do it.' Also, many people believe an erection is an important element for a perfect man," said Katsumata, who has fielded inquires from 2,000 men wanting to import Viagra since last year. Some of the traditional sellers are unfazed, however. Kazuko Tanikawa says she has confidence in her business of mixing and selling Oriental cures at Marue Kanpou Pharmacy Co. The pharmacist said Viagra was unlikely to damage sales of traditional drugs, ranging from sea horses, deer horn and vipers to snapping turtles. Her customers were "different" to Viagra buyers. "Viagra fans might make 'that' happen right now whereas our customers take a long-term view," she said. "We can also make up a prescription for a couple."

To: BigKNY3 who wrote (6890)	1/31/1999 7:41:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9523

Viagra Does Not Cause Retinal Abnormalities, Research Shows LONDON, ENGLAND -- Jan. 29, 1999 -- Can the visual symptoms that some patients taking Pfizer Inc.'s Viagra (sildenafil), a drug indicated for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, complain of be a side-effect of the drug? The retina is a sensitive network of nerve cells, fibres and photoreceptors that line the back of the eye. Sildenafil inhibits the production of a substance called phosphodiesterase (PDE) type 6. When light hits the photoreceptors in the retina, PDE type 6 is needed to transform light into electrical signals that go to the brain. Dr. Michael Vobig and colleagues from the University of Cologne, Germany, investigated whether this inhibitory effect of sildenafil had any retinal side-effects. Their results are published in this week's issue of The Lancet. Five healthy volunteers were given a 100 mg tablet of sildenafil. Tests of retinal function were done just before the volunteers took the sildenafil and at one and six hours afterwards. The drug was found to have no effect on vision and there were no retinal abnormalities. The only effect was a reduction in retinal function one hour after sildenafil was taken, but function returned to normal within six hours. "It seems that retinal function in patients receiving sildenafil should be monitored," the researchers write. Related Links: Viagra, Pfizer Inc., The Lancet

To: BigKNY3 who wrote (6890)	1/31/1999 7:43:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 9523

Pfizer Revises Trovan Prescribing Information WASHINGTON, DC -- Jan. 29, 1999 -- In consultation with the United States Food and Drug Administration, Pfizer Inc. has amended the prescribing information for its broad-spectrum antibiotic, Trovan I.V. (alatrofloxacin mesylate injection). The new information refers to the potential incompatibility of Trovan injection with two commonly used diluents, 0.9% sodium chloride injection, USP (usually referred to as normal saline solution) and Lactated Ringer's, USP. Specifically, the dosage and administration section of the Trovan I.V. labelling has been revised to include the following information: "Trovan I.V. should not be diluted with 0.9% Sodium Chloride Injection, USP [normal saline], alone or in combination with other diluents. A precipitate may form under these conditions. In addition, Trovan I.V. should not be diluted with Lactated Ringer's, USP. Normal saline, 0.9% Sodium Chloride Injection, USP can be used for flushing I.V. lines prior to or after administration of Trovan I.V." Health Care Professionals should carefully follow the instructions included in the revised labelling when preparing alatrofloxacin mesylate injection for administration. It should be noted that Trovan I.V. is compatible in the following intravenous solutions: 5% Dextrose Injection, USP; 0.45% Sodium Chloride Injection, USP; 5% Dextrose and 0.45% Sodium Chloride Injection, USP; 5% Dextrose and 0.2% Sodium Chloride Injection, USP; Lactated Ringer's; and 5% Dextrose Injection, USP.

To: BigKNY3 who wrote (6890)	2/1/1999 4:11:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9523

Monsanto's Celebrex Prescriptions Reach 55,000 a Week in Jan. Bloomberg News February 1, 1999, 3:48 p.m. ET Monsanto's Celebrex Prescriptions Reach 55,000 a Week in Jan. St. Louis, Feb. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Monsanto Co.'s new arthritis drug Celebrex had 55,000 prescriptions filled in the week ended Jan. 31, according to NDC Health Information Services, putting the painkiller on target to become a blockbuster. The first of a new class of painkillers that appear to have fewer side effects than existing drugs, Celebrex had about 10,000 prescriptions for the week ending Jan. 24, NDC said. In contrast, Warner-Lambert Co.'s cholesterol reducer Lipitor had less than 12,000 prescriptions in its second week on the market, NDC said. Lipitor was considered the most successful drug introduction before Pfizer Inc. introduced the anti-impotence pill Viagra this year. Even with a wholesale cost of about $2.42 a day, Monsanto's Celebrex is finding many buyers. The drug represents one of the few advances in arthritis treatment in the past two decades, analysts have said. ''People have heard so much about it and there's huge demand,'' said Hemant Shah, an independent drug analyst. Monsanto, based in St. Louis, rose 7/16 to 48. Monsanto sells Celebrex through a partnership with Pfizer, considered to be one of the drug industry's best marketers. Pfizer, based in New York, rose 4 1/2 to 133 1/8. Celebrex and Vioxx, a drug developed by Merck & Co., are part of a class of drugs known as Cox-2 inhibitors, designed to offer the same benefits as current painkillers with fewer side effects such as bleeding and ulcers for people who take pain medication for chronic conditions such as arthritis. Monsanto's Searle drug unit won U.S. approval on Dec. 31 to sell Celebrex for treating osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, putting it months ahead of Merck, the world's biggest drugmaker, in introducing the first of the new drugs. Analysts have said the Cox-2 drugs can achieve annual sales of as much as $5 billion. The Cox-2 drugs will compete with painkillers sold by a range of companies, including SmithKline Beecham Plc, American Home Products Corp. and Roche Holding AG. --Kerry Dooley in the Washington newsroom (202) 624-1820 /mfr quote.bloomberg.com

To: BigKNY3 who wrote (6890)	2/1/1999 6:52:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 9523

Viagra found to be effective for diabetes-related male impotence CHICAGO, Feb 2 (AFP) - Diabetes-related male impotence can be treated safely and effectively with the Viagra drug, according to a study by Nebraska researchers. From May through November 1996, Marc Rendell and colleagues at the Omaha-based Creighton Diabetes Center studied the effects of oral Viagra on 268 US men afflicted with erectile dysfunction (ED) linked to insulin-dependent or non-insulin-dependent diabetes. They found that after 12 weeks of treatment, 56 percent of those who took Viagra reported improved erections compared with 10 percent of patients taking a placebo (dummy drug). Sixty-one percent of those in the first group had at least one successful attempt at sexual intercourse, compared with 22 percent for the placebo group. "Treatment with sildenafil (Viagra) significantly improved erection function across all three efficacy variables regardless of patient age, the duration of ED and the duration of diabetes," the authors wrote in the latest issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association. ED, a common complication in male diabetics, is often associated with diabetic neuropathy and peripheral vascular disease, they noted. The dysfunction occurs at an earlier age in men with diabetes than in men in the general population.<p>Diabetes, a disorder in which the pancreas produces insufficient or no insulin, affects an estimated 15.7 million people in the United States, including 7.5 million men. Non-insulin-dependent diabetes, accounts for 90 percent to 95 percent of the diagnosed cases. Insulin-dependent diabetes accounts for five to ten percent. In an accompanying commentary, Larry Lipshultz and Edward Kim, from the Houston-based Baylor College of Medicine said Viagra "represents an important and effective treatment of erectile dysfunction in carefully selected men with diabetes." "When sildenafil is ineffective or contra-indicated, patients should be offered other nonsurgical treatment choices such as intracavernous injection therapy, intraurethral alprostadil (a prostaglandin drug used to improve blood flow) and vacuum constriction devices," they added. yahoo.com.sg