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

To: Dan Spillane who wrote (1053)	2/2/1999 3:12:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2539

The IMS Celebrex news release has some interesting info on the antiarthritics drug market: NEW THERAPY FOR ARTHRITIS SUFFERERS TO JOIN THE $1.7 BILLION-PLU LONDON--(BW HealthWire)--Feb. 1, 1999--With the recent approval of Searle's Celebrex in the United States, many arthritis sufferers are anticipating pain relief without the serious gastrointestinal side effects that often occur with other therapies. IMS HEALTH (NYSE:RX) reports Celebrex captured 9,527 dispensed total prescriptions in the U.S. for the week ending January 22. Celebrex is the first in a new class of drugs called Cox-2 inhibitors, used to treat the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis as well as osteoarthritis. According to IMS HEALTH, year-ending November 1998 U.S. sales for antiarthritics are $1.7 billion and total prescriptions dispensed are 70.5 million. IMS HEALTH is the world's leading provider of information solutions to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. Arthritis is a chronic condition characterized by pain and inflammation of the joints. The most common type of arthritis, osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease in which cartilage that covers the ends of bones in the joint deteriorates, causing pain and loss of movement. Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease in which the joint lining becomes inflamed, causing joint deformities and fatigue. Celebrex, now available in the U.S. and Brazil is being co-marketed by Searle and Pfizer. Shortly Merck is expected to introduce their Cox-2 inhibitor, Vioxx, which currently is under a six month priority review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Searle is rapidly becoming a strong contender in the antiarthritic marketplace. Daypro ranks second among leading antiarthritics with $287 million in sales. Searle also launched Arthrotec in January of 1998, which captured $150 million in sales year-to-date ending November 1998. Arthrotec is the first in a new class of agents, NSAIDs with gastrointestinal mucosal protection. Additional background information from IMS HEALTH on this market: Year-ending November 1998 sales for antiarthritics were $1.7 billion. The current leader, SmithKline Beecham, achieved sales of $405 million and a 24 percent market share with Relafen. Second in sales volume is Searle's NSAID, Daypro, with $287 million dollars in sales and a 17 percent market share. Prescription volume for the antiarthritics is 70.5 million dispensed year-to-date through November 1998. Relafen's share of volume is 11 percent and Daypro's share is 7 percent. Prescriptions for this market have remained fairly constant over the last 5 years. The top physician prescribers of these drugs are Primary Care Physicians, accounting for 36 percent of prescriptions. Internists and Orthopedic Surgeons follow with 20 percent and 9 percent, respectively. Prescription payment coverage for this market is very consistent, with an overall pharmaceutical average of 79.6 percent of new prescriptions being paid for by third parties. The patient visits for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA) year-to-date through November 1998 are 13.3 million, a 6 percent increase over the same period a year ago. Sixty-seven percent of patients seeking treatment for OA and RA are women. The onset of arthritis commonly occurs during or after middle-age. The most common age range is between 40 to 69 years of age (52 percent). IMS HEALTH's weekly tracking service provides comprehensive coverage of these retail channels - chains, independents, food stores with pharmacies -- and includes cash and medicaid prescriptions as well as third party reimbursement. This service also provides unique access to mail order which makes it the most complete market tracking service.<P>IMS HEALTH is the world's leading provider of information solutions to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. With more than $1 billion in 1997 revenue, IMS HEALTH operates in over 90 countries. IMS HEALTH is the largest pharmaceutical manufacturer information partner, with over 40 years' experience in the industry. Key products and services integral to customer day-to-day operations include: market research for prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceutical products; sales management information to optimize sales force productivity; technology enabled selling solutions for sales and marketing decision-making; and technology systems and information services that support managed care organizations. Additional information and previous releases are available at IMS HEALTH's web site: imshealth.com.