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

To: jopawa who wrote (1055)	2/2/1999 6:24:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2539

Yes, John, isn't it great? One thing to note, which is not surprising, is that MTC got no upgrade because of strong Celebrex scripts, while PFE got one from PaineWebber (due to strong Celebrex numbers) and MRK got one, again from PaineWebber, due to anticipated strong sales from their not-yet-approved Vioxx. MTC is unloved by analysts...highly leveraged, poor management etc.etc. I expect next week's script no. to be strong as well. We should be able to get at least 50,000 for the week. NDC Health Information Services, which is able to track prescription sales on a daily basis, is competing with IMS Health Services, which provides script numbers one week behind NDC. We should be able to get some numbers in the afternoon. This is a great way for NDC to market their services. Three weeks' great scripts data and MTC would become a momentum stock like Immunex. We may be able to see mid-50's by next week. Anthony

To: jopawa who wrote (1055)	2/2/1999 6:28:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2539

AgrEvo Seeks to Sell Liberty Link Soybeans Despite European Ban Bloomberg News February 2, 1999, 5:03 p.m. ET AgrEvo Seeks to Sell Liberty Link Soybeans Despite European Ban Frankfurt, Feb. 2 (Bloomberg) -- AgrEvo GmbH, the agricultural joint venture of German chemical companies Hoechst AG and Schering AG, wants U.S. farmers to plant its Liberty Link soybean seed, even though they won't be able to export the crop to Europe because it hasn't been approved there yet. AgrEvo said it's negotiating with the American Soybean Association to set up a ''closed loop'' system of production that would ensure the soybeans don't get into European export channels. It would contract with certain farmers and elevators to keep the seed separate. It takes at least double the time to get genetically modified seed approved in Europe as it takes in the U.S., where the process typically lasts a year. Europe has approved just five varieties compared to 30 in the U.S. The delay means AgrEvo is forced to restrict sales of Liberty Link soybeans for the second straight year. That's left the field open for rival Monsanto Co. and its competing Roundup Ready seed. Both products allow farmers to spray herbicides over their soybeans, killing weeds without damaging the crop. Roundup Ready soybeans were approved by the European Union in May 1996, clearing the way for U.S. farmers to plant the crop for export markets. In 1998 more than 25 million acres, or 35 percent of all U.S. soybean acres were Roundup-resistant. Analysts say that could rise to as much as 45 million acres, or 63 percent in 1999. ''The difficulty AgrEvo will have in 2000 is in penetrating the substantial acreage that Roundup Ready has claimed,'' said Christine McCracken, an analyst at Vector Securities International. AgrEvo is negotiating with the American Soybean Association, which represents 32,000 growers about the terms of setting up a closed loop system, and the amount growers would be compensated for keeping the beans segregated. Even if terms are agreed, AgrEvo said the system could only be applied to a small number of acres. It would be prohibitively expensive for AgrEvo to contract with farmers for millions of acres. Still, the company wants its product at least to be on the market, even if in a limited way. --Toni Clarke in the Chicago newsroom (312) 692-3725 /mfr