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

To: BigKNY3 who wrote (7130)	3/3/1999 6:32:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 9523

New York Post Editorial - A Thank You for Pharmaceuticals March 3, 1999 Psychiatric patients aren't chained to walls anymore, thank God. And that's largely due to the anonymous researchers at America's pharmaceutical corporations. Thanks to drugs such as Prozac, millions of depressed and anxious Americans can now function in society. So the revelation that New Yorkers in charge of testing new drugs on mental patients get payments and honoraria from the drug companies doesn't disturb us. Many psychiatrists and researchers in charge of testing drugs on state mental patients routinely receive speaking and consulting fees from firms such as Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Glaxo and Bristol Myers-Squibb. Many critics label this a conflict of interest. They're right only if you assume that they should be in a distanced or adversarial relationship to these companies - and that assumption smacks more of anti-business bias than it speaks to scientific independence. Look, leading scientists and researchers are in demand, their services sought by universities, government and private industry simultaneously. They are routinely paid for their time and expertise by all of these institutions. Severing the relationship between these fields in a quest for purity would be counterproductive. All such outside income must be disclosed, which is indeed how it came to light in the first place. Most of the researchers do work for many different companies, all of which are in competition with each other. The Food and Drug Administration ultimately passes on all drugs put on the market. The last thing a company wants is bad data that can't be replicated and won't pass FDA scrutiny. And a scientist who compromised his integrity in that way would soon find his reputation ruined. Finally, given the liability climate in this country, does anybody really believe that a drug company would try to play games in order to put out a harmful product? "There is no shortage of scientists who seek to find flaws in each others' work," says Dr. Fred Goodwin, a psychiatrist who formerly headed the National Institutes of Mental Health. "If somebody was putting out biased research, it would become evident very quickly." Pharmaceutical companies do the overwhelming majority of drug research in this country. They have done wonders - literal wonders - for people. They should be celebrated, not demonized. And the doctors and scientists who help them deserve a lot of credit too. nypostonline.com

To: BigKNY3 who wrote (7130)	3/4/1999 8:20:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 9523

Viagra Speeds Pill OK in Japan Thursday March 4 4:56 AM ET By YURI KAGEYAMA Associated Press Writer TOKYO (AP) - A month after the speedy government approval of the impotence drug Viagra drew widespread protest, Japan has moved closer to ending a ban on a contraceptive pill for women. The government committee studying the safety of the pill has finished its nine-year deliberation. It concluded there was no reason to further withhold approval, although it stopped short of deciding to actually approve it, Health Ministry official Yasuhide Furusawa said today. Although the pill has been available to most women in the rest of the world for nearly four decades, Tokyo has dragged its feet, citing fears about the destruction of the nation's morals and even environmental harm from the hormones. The pill suddenly came into the spotlight after Viagra was approved in late January in just six months. Women's groups accused the government of sexism. The committee, expected to meet again in June, said Wednesday that it first wants to write up guidelines for doctors and users, such as teaching people to use condoms to prevent the spread of AIDS, Furusawa said. ''Why we need to wait three months is a mystery,'' said Dr. Kunio Kitamura, director of the clinic at the Tokyo-based Japan Family Planning Association, an affiliate of Planned Parenthood. ''If there's any drug that should be approved, no questions asked, it's the pill.'' In contrast to the pill, Viagra was approved so quickly the guidelines are still being worked out. The Health Ministry said today that warnings were sent this week to local governments asking that emergency rooms not use nitroglycerin, the No. 1 treatment for heart attacks, for patients who are also on Viagra. Mixing Viagra with nitroglycerin can be deadly. ''We are concerned about confusion at emergency rooms,'' said ministry official Hiroyuki Doi. If the committee recommends approval in June, government approval is likely within a month, and the pill will start to be available in the fall. Many welcomed the news that the pill's approval may be imminent. Teikoku Hormone Mfg., a company that hopes to put the pill on the market, said preparations were under way, with the assumption that approval was coming soon. Pill advocates, however, said they weren't about to let their guard down after repeated disappointments. The Professional Women's Coalition for Sexuality and Health, a Tokyo grassroots group that has been pushing for the pill's approval, urged the government to stop stalling and to make sure that women get correct information about its use. ''In Japan, doctors and nurses have almost no knowledge about modern contraception methods,'' it said in a statement. The most commonly used contraceptive in Japan is the condom. Abortion is also common, with one in five pregnancies ending in abortion. dailynews.yahoo.com.

To: BigKNY3 who wrote (7130)	3/4/1999 3:47:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 9523

03/04 15:24 Celebrex on track to beat Viagra as top new drug CHICAGO, March 4 (Reuters) - Prescriptions of G.D. Searle & Co.'s Celebrex continue to gain momentum, nearly assuring that the arthritis drug will top blockbuster impotency treatment Viagra as the most successful new drug launch ever. NDC Health Information Services said Thursday that Celebrex generated more than 102,000 prescriptions on Monday and Tuesday of this week, its seventh week in the market, nearly matching Viagra's prescription rate at a comparable point. But while prescriptions during the launch of Pfizer Inc.'s <PFE.N> Viagra peaked by its fifth week in the market, Celebrex prescriptions continue to surge, said NDC, an independent health care information firm that tracks prescription data. So far, with just over six weeks in the market, Celebrex has generated more than 735,000 prescriptions, NDC said. Pfizer is co-marketing Celebrex with Searle, and results for the sixth week reflect the combined sales force of the two companies. "It seems fairly certain that even if the drug slows from its incredible rapid uptake, Celebrex will be the most successful launch ever tracked by NDC," NDC said. Analysts said the early success of Celebrex is very important for Searle, a unit of Monsanto Co. <MTC.N>, as other drug companies are hot on its heels with their new arthritis treatments. On Wednesday, Abbott Laboratories Inc. <ABT.N> said it signed an agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals to co-promote its arthritis drug Mobic in the United States once it is cleared by the Food and Drug Administration, probably late this year. And Merck and Co. Inc.'s <MRK.N> Vioxx is to be reviewed by an FDA advisory committee in April, with approval expected this spring. The drugs are part of a new class of Cox-2 inhibitors. They are designed to treat pain and arthritis without the gastrointestinal side effects often seen in 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 from stomach ulcers and other complications, and as many as 16,500 die. Analysts said that while additional Cox-2 approvals will heat up competition, arthritis sufferers have seen little change in treatment options in more than a decade. U.S. sales of Celebrex alone are now expected to top $1 billion in 1999, which would beat initial estimates. "There is room for a strong third player in that class of drugs," said Sarah Ross, an analyst for Edward Jones, adding that Vioxx and Celebrex will likely hold the top two slots. moneynet.com@NEWS-P1&Index=0&HeadlineURL=../News/NewsHeadlines.asp&DISABLE_FORM=&NAVSVC=News\Company

To: BigKNY3 who wrote (7130)	3/4/1999 5:17:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9523

More information on Boehringer Ingelheim, Abbott Labs's Cox-2 inhibitor Mobic from a 3/3 Wall Street Journal article: A third major player is jumping into the multibillion-dollar arthritis-pain wars. Abbott Laboratories has acquired U.S. co-marketing rights to the drug Mobic, one of a new class of highly promising pain medications known generally as "Cox-2 inhibitors." Abbott will sell the drug along with its maker, Germany's Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH. For the other companies in the arthritis-pain market, the presence of Abbott, a powerful marketing force, will alter the competitive landscape when Mobic enters the U.S. market later this year. Monsanto Co. and Pfizer Inc. already are co-marketing the pain drug Celebrex, which is well on its way to becoming a blockbuster. Merck & Co.'s Vioxx could jump into the market by next month. For Abbott, the deal with Boehringer is a major departure, too, and is an example of things to come. The venture reflects the more aggressive style of its new chief executive, Miles D. White. In interviews, Mr. White makes it clear that Abbott, which long shunned pharmaceutical co-marketing deals and largely avoided mergers, now will be more assertive in pursuing both. Apart from acquiring rights to Mobic in the current deal, Abbott also will co-market the Boehringer hypertension drug Micardis, also among a promising new class of drugs called angiotensin II receptor blockers. "It's true that we need more in our pharmaceutical pipeline, and we need to find some other supplements to our product line," says Mr. White, who became CEO Jan. 1. "It's fair to say that we will seek more, and I expect there will be more" pharmaceutical marketing deals. The Cox-2 drugs, so-called because they act on an enzyme called cyclooxygenas e-2, represent a potential breakthrough in the treatment of arthritis. Wall Street analysts say they will constitute a market of several billion dollars soon. That is because they treat pain as well as current drugs but hold the potential of doing so without causing severe gastrointestinal difficulties like bleeding ulcers, as current arthritis drugs do in some patients. Abbott and Boehringer Ingelheim will need to establish that their drug is as good, or nearly as good, as Celebrex and Vioxx in avoiding stomach problems. No head-to-head trials have been conducted, and J.P. Morgan analyst Carl Seiden says that based on early data, Mobic may not be as effective at avoiding gastrointestinal difficulties. Sheldon Berkle, Boehringer Ingelheim executive vice president, says that "GI abnormalities were significantly less for Mobic" than for older, existing arthritis drugs in trials they have conducted.