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

To: BigKNY3 who wrote (7152)	3/6/1999 11:53:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 9523

Novartis Drug Helps Alzheimer's Patients in Study in Journal Bloomberg News March 6, 1999, 6:59 a.m. ET Basel, Switzerland, March 6 (Bloomberg) -- Novartis AG, the world's third biggest drugmaker, said its Exelon drug improved the functioning of Alzheimer's disease patients in a new study. Novartis already sells the drug in more than 40 countries and is hoping to win Food and Drug Administration approval to sell it in the U.S., the world's biggest drug market. While approval of Exelon was delayed after the FDA in July requested more analyses of the drug, analysts expect an approval soon. The new study, published in the British Medical Journal, could help Novartis as it tries to compete with others in a potential $2 billion market. Currently, the Alzheimer's market is dominated by Pfizer Inc. and Eisai Co.'s Aricept, which has quickly outdone Warner-Lambert Co.'s Cognex as the drug of choice to treat the condition. The study and an earlier one conducted in the U.S. provide ''powerful evidence that Exelon is effective in improving symptoms in patients with Alzheimer's disease and stabilizing or slowing the rate of decline in others,'' said Michael Rosler, a doctor and researcher from Wurzburg, Germany, who served as lead author of the study. In the new study, which included 725 patients, researchers compared the performance of patients taking Exelon against those given a placebo. They found that Exelon patients tended to improve or maintain their level of functioning in daily tasks, such as dressing themselves, as well as in cognitive abilities and behavior, Novartis said. In all, 55 percent of Exelon patients had an improvement in cognitive function, while the majority of placebo patients had a decline, the company said. Novartis spokesman Mark Hill said the company can't predict when the FDA will issue its decision on the drug. ''We're just hoping and waiting,'' he said. Bayer AG, Germany's No. 2 drug and chemical company, is among a host of other companies vying to sell an Alzheimer's disease drug in the U.S. Bayer last month said the FDA asked for more data on its metrifonate drug, delaying its approval. About 4 million Americans have Alzheimer's, which is the fourth leading cause of adult death in the U.S. behind heart disease, cancer, and stroke. To date, drugmakers have only come up with drugs to address the symptoms of Alzheimer's, such as dementia, memory loss and other impairments of daily function. The disease has no cure. --Kristin Jensen in the Washington newsroom (202) 624-1843/ah /