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

To: BigKNY3 who wrote (7068)	2/22/1999 5:55:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 9523

02/22 17:20 Searle launches campaign as Celebrex continues run CHICAGO, Feb 22 (Reuters) - G.D. Searle's arthritis pain drug Celebrex was officially launched on Monday, but it had already established itself as one of the most-prescribed new drugs, second only to Viagra, the male anti-impotence pill. According to NDC Health Information Services, which tracks the data, the drug generated more than 119,000 prescriptions in the six days ending with Feb. 18, one day short of the end of its fifth week on the market. So far, prescriptions for Celebrex are second only to Pfizer Inc.'s <PFE.N> blockbuster anti-impotence drug, Viagra. Searle is co-marketing Celebrex with Pfizer. Shares of Monsanto Co. <MTC.N>, Searle's parent company, rose 2-8/16 to 48-1/16, and shares of Pfizer jumped 5-3/16 to 133-1/2. Celebrex is the first of a new class of drugs called Cox-2 inhibitors to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It was developed to treat pain and arthritis without causing the serious gastrointestinal side effects often experienced with drugs such as aspirin and ibuprofen. Cox-2 drugs inhibit the Cox-2 enzyme that triggers pain, but not the Cox-1 enzyme that protects the lining of the stomach. Searle has said more than 107,000 Americans are hospitalized each year for stomach ulcers and other complications and as many as 16,500 of them die. Hemant Shah, an independent healthcare industry analyst, said U.S. sales of Celebrex will almost certainly surpass $1 billion in 1999. "Celebrex has had a stunning performance, even before the drug was launched," Shah said. "It's well behind Viagra so far, but two months down the road it will surpass Viagra without a doubt." Shah said over the weekend, Celebrex accounted for nearly 16 percent of new prescriptions dispensed for the treatment of arthritis. "That's an unbelievable performance," Shah said. moneynet.com@NEWS-P2&Index=0&HeadlineURL=../News/NewsHeadlines.asp&DISABLE_FORM=&NAVSVC=News\Company

To: BigKNY3 who wrote (7068)	2/22/1999 6:10:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 9523

Monsanto Arthritis Drug Tops 350,000 Prescriptions in 5 Weeks St. Louis, Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Monsanto Co. said its new arthritis drug Celebrex has had more than 350,000 prescriptions filled in its first five weeks on the U.S. market, reflecting pent-up demand for a painkiller that is easier on the stomach than aspirin and other older medicines. Richard De Schutter, Monsanto's vice chairman, disclosed the prescription number in an interview on CNBC. De Schutter also is chairman, president and chief executive of Monsanto's drugmaking unit Searle. Searle today started its marketing campaign for Celebrex, sending sales representatives to doctors' offices throughout the U.S. Even before this effort began, Celebrex, which appears to irritate the stomach less than other medicines such as ibuprofen, had one of the best introductions ever. Its success is topped only by the introduction of Pfizer Inc.'s anti- impotence pill Viagra last year, according to NDC Health Information Services. NDC, a unit of Atlanta-based NDC Corp., tomorrow will release its own new prescription information on Celebrex. In its first four weeks on the market, Celebrex generated 254,000 prescriptions, more than five times the number written in the comparable period for Warner-Lambert Co.'s Lipitor. Until Viagra, Lipitor's 1997 introduction was considered the most successful in history. Viagra racked up 694,000 prescriptions in its first four weeks. quote.bloomberg.com