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To: Joe Wesley who wrote (1181)	2/13/1999 8:06:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 2539

Amateur, thanks for the information. The marketing blitz starts on 2/22. All eyes would be on the scripts number for the subsequent week. Anthony

To: Joe Wesley who wrote (1181)	2/14/1999 8:54:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2539

IMS HEALTH Reports Nine-fold Increase in U.S. Celebrex Prescribing in First Week of February, More Than Half of Prescriptions Written By Primary Care Physicians and Rheumatologists Saturday February 13, 5:22 pm Eastern Time Company Press Release LONDON--(BW HealthWire)--Feb. 13, 1999--IMS HEALTH (NYSE:RX - news) today reported that Celebrex prescribing in the U.S. continues to climb - reaching 93,838 total prescriptions dispensed for the week ending Feb. 5. This represents a nine-fold increase over the 9,527 dispensed total prescriptions for the week ending Jan. 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, primary care physicians -- defined by the specialties of Family Practice, General Practice, Osteopathic Medicine and Internal Medicine -- and rheumatologists now generate 66 percent of Celebrex prescriptions, followed by Orthopedic Surgeons, who are writing 15 percent of Celebrex prescriptions. IMS HEALTH is the world's leading provider of information solutions to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. The majority of Celebrex prescriptions (57 percent) are being dispensed through chain drugstores, followed by independent pharmacies, which are dispensing 31 percent of prescriptions. The remaining business is held by food stores with pharmacies and mail-order prescriptions, accounting for 11 percent and 1 percent of prescriptions, respectively. Mail-order prescriptions for Celebrex average approximately 125 tablets each, while prescriptions filled through other channels - chain drugstores, food stores with pharmacies and independent pharmacies - average less than 44 tablets each. Looking at recent top product launches, Celebrex's performance has outpaced all but Viagra's, based on new prescriptions captured during the first three weeks on the market. IMS HEALTH's weekly prescription tracking service provides comprehensive coverage of three U.S. retail channels -- chain drug stores, independent pharmacies and food stores with pharmacies -- and includes cash and Medicaid prescriptions as well as third-party reimbursement. The service also provides unique access to mail-order prescriptions, making it the most complete market tracking service covering the U.S. pharmaceutical industry. 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 press releases are available at IMS HEALTH's web site: imshealth.com. biz.yahoo.com