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

To: Little Gorilla who wrote (7245)	3/18/1999 10:52:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9523

Merck's Vioxx Seen Effective in Treating Menstrual, Dental Pain Bloomberg News March 18, 1999, 8:35 a.m. ET Merck's Vioxx Seen Effective in Treating Menstrual, Dental Pain Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, March 18 (Bloomberg) -- Merck & Co., the world's biggest drugmaker, said studies indicate its experimental arthritis medicine Vioxx works well in treating menstrual pain and pain caused by removal of wisdom teeth. This research could help Merck in its efforts to catch up with rival Monsanto Co. in the market for a new class of potential blockbuster painkillers. Monsanto's new arthritis drug Celebrex doesn't have these same indications. Merck's drug still is under review at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Analysts expect annual sales of Celebrex and Vioxx to top $1 billion quickly because these pills appear to treat pain and inflammation without irritating the stomach like older medicines, such as ibuprofen. More than 600,000 prescriptions already have been filled for Monsanto's drug, Celebrex, which was introduced in mid-January. In studies presented today, Vioxx seemed to be comparable to naproxen sodium, a commonly used painkiller, in treating menstrual pain, Merck said. In dental pain, Vioxx was comparable to ibuprofen, Merck said. Merck, based in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, yesterday fell 1 7/8 to 84. In the past 12 months, shares of the company have risen 28 percent, boosted in part by prospects for Vioxx. Merck will present its Vioxx research before an FDA panel on April 20. Analysts and investors will be watching this meeting closely to try to gauge how well Merck's application is received by the FDA. Monsanto had a setback when the FDA failed to designate Celebrex as a new kind of drug. Instead, its label classes it as similar to ibuprofen and other older painkillers, a class of medicines known as ''non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDS. NSAIDs work by interfering with an enzyme linked to pain and swelling, cyclooxygenase-2. Unfortunately, these drugs also may target a related enzyme, cyclooxygenase-1, that seems to help protect the lining of the stomach from the acid it contains. As a result, NSAIDs may cause more than 100,000 hospitalizations each year in the U.S. As many as 16,500 people may die from these complications, by some estimates. Like other NSAIDs, Celebrex carries a warning about the possibility for harm to the gastrointestinal tract. Monsanto was helped, though, by the FDA's decision to let the drugmaker add information about studies that indicate Celebrex is less likely to cause ulcers than some other NSAIDS. Merck and Monsanto both intend to prove that their drugs target more specifically cyclooxygenase-2 and thus spare the stomach. --Kerry Dooley in the Princeton newsroom (609) 279-4016/gfh