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Biotech / Medical : VVUS: VIVUS INC. (NASDAQ) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Zebra 365 who wrote (19746)	3/14/1999 10:39:00 AM
From: wvalx	Respond to of 23519

This is from the VVUS site: "The following is a list of countries and marketing companies as of March 1998. These companies will market VIVUS products when the required product registrations are obtained." What does the above mean? Is Alibra already covered in the marketing agreements? I would hope that Vivus hits the ground running with Alibra and does not get an FDA approved product and have no sales force. I would have to think that any domestic marketing agreement will absolutely include Alibra. Do people expect Alibra to complete phase III by September or get official FDA approval by September? If it is the latter, I expect them to have that domestic marketing agreement no later than July 1st.

To: Zebra 365 who wrote (19746)	3/14/1999 11:32:00 AM
From: AlienTech	Respond to of 23519

>>We are a long way from a marketable product in that area. I think there was something else driving the buying. Whether it was hedged short covering or opening new positions, that Press release was not enough to drive it to what we saw.<< Oh you mean Astra filing for $300 mil in convertables? Anyone know how much cash Astra has right now? Seems really strange that the news comes out on friday after the close and I go to buy on monday morning and the stocks up a 1/8 to 2 3/16! I say fawk it, I wont buy untill it goes back to 2 1/16! I will stick by my convictions even if it means I loose out on the run up.

To: Zebra 365 who wrote (19746)	3/14/1999 4:01:00 PM
From: BigKNY3	Respond to of 23519

Zebra <<We are a long way from a marketable product in that area. I think there was something else driving the buying. Whether it was hedged short covering or opening new positions, that Press release was not enough to drive it to what we saw.>> Dr. Z: A very perceptive post! Most pharma companies are reluctant to issue press releases based on patent approvals since human testing has usually not even begun and market approval, if it ever happens, is usually years away. As examples in the ED market, a Vasomax patent (a questionable patent on a product already approved for hypertension) was issued in 1993 and the Viagra patent was issued in 1994. houston-press.com I also agree with your reasoning on last week's VVUS price action. It may also be due to the lack of understanding that a patent is a legal action to protect an invention from competition..... not a regulatory action that indicates whether the product is effective, safe, tolerable or marketable. BigKNY3