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

To: BigKNY3 who wrote (7285)	3/23/1999 11:58:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 9523

Icos Rises Amid Hopes for Prospects of Drug to Rival Viagra Bloomberg News March 23, 1999, 3:53 p.m. ET Icos Rises Amid Hopes for Prospects of Drug to Rival Viagra Bothell, Washington, March 23 (Bloomberg) -- Shares in Icos Corp., a biotech company whose biggest shareholder is Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, rose as much as 14 percent amid hopes for the success of an experimental impotence drug it's developing. Icos rose 3 7/16 to 36 3/4 in late trading of 2.2 million shares, more than six times the three-month daily average. Earlier, it reached a record high of 38 1/8. Icos will present data next month at a medical meeting in Stockholm on its impotence treatment, which could compete with Pfizer Inc.'s blockbuster impotence pill Viagra. While the results are only from the second of three phases of testing needed to get regulatory approval for the product, investors are hoping that drug being developed by Icos and drugmaker Eli Lilly & Co. will prove to have fewer side effects than Viagra. ''In an immature market like the one for impotence drugs, swings in market share can be big,'' said Sergio Traversa, an analyst with Mehta Partners. ''If they've got a small advantage, the drug may have definitely have a rapid uptake and grab significant market share.'' Investigators will discuss data from Phase II trials of the ICOS drug, which is dubbed IC351, at the April 7 to 11 meeting of the European Urology Association in Stockholm, said Icos spokeswoman Lacy Fitzpatrick. 'Significant Improvement' Icos released preliminary data from that trial in September. The company said the 44-patient overseas study found that men who received the drug had ''significant improvement'' in their ability to achieve an erection over men treated with a placebo. On Thursday, the AFX financial wire service reported that French urologist Albert Leriche said that IC351 could win approval within a year or two. He also said the drug can enable users to achieve an erection for a 24-hour period, far longer than Viagra. It's too early to comment on the duration of the drug's effect because the company has yet to determine correct dosage, Fitzpatrick said. Icos and Lilly hope to begin Phase III trials of the drug by the end of this year. The Icos drug appears to be the only strong threat to Viagra, which quickly became a part of pop culture following its April 1998 introduction, thanks to record-breaking demand for the drug, said Traversa, who has a ''buy'' recommendation on Icos shares. IC351 was specifically designed to cause an erection, which means it's less likely to unexpected side effects, Traversa said. ''You would be able to have the same efficacy at lower doses. It should have a better side effect profile than Viagra,'' he said. Icos was founded in 1990 by George Rathmann, a co-founder of Amgen Inc., the world's biggest biotechnology firm. Other Directors Besides Gates, other directors at Icos include Walter Wriston, former CEO of Citicorp; Frank Cary, former CEO of International Business Machines Corp.; and James Ferguson, former CEO of General Foods Corp. AmeriCal Securities analyst Charles Engelberg said that all- star lineup has made Icos shares more attractive than merited by its pipeline of drug candidates, none of which has approval. ''All the tech players want to do biotech and they buy this one because Bill Gates owns it,'' Engelberg said. ''Just look at the ($1.5 billion) market cap. It's just crazy considering that we don't know that anything they have will become a drug.''

To: BigKNY3 who wrote (7285)	3/24/1999 12:31:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 9523

New Viagra? Passions will be aroused San Antonio Express News Wednesday, Mar 24,1999 One year ago this week, America entered the brave new world of Viagra. The timing of the debut — during Women's History Month — may have seemed ironic to some. But hey, it's the '90s. And even Viagra's fame paled before the orgy of national attention paid to one historic woman, whose threesyllable name, also ending with the letter "a," had become a household word. Monica Lewinsky's tawdry tale transfixed us, prompting endless speculation that lasted all year. Viagra, on the other hand, reportedly fixed an impressive 70 percent of the males who used it as prescribed to treat physical "sexual dysfunction." It was equally successful on the capital side, inflating the profits of its parent company, Pfizer, by a muscular 27 percent last year. This year, in this last Women's History Month of the millennium, Monica is finally out of the headlines. Viagra, on the other hand, still has a virile upside, Pfizer spokeswoman Mariann Caprino said this week. The drug went on the market in Japan, Taiwan and Korea this week, sparking futile pharmacy stampedes by men who didn't realize they had to get prescriptions first. And even here at home, Caprino added, only one potential customer in seven is on board if recent studies, indicating that one of 10 American men suffers chronic impotence, are correct. Still, there are even wider horizons for Viagra — women. The first large-scale test winds up this summer in England (don't even think about Margaret Thatcher here), and Pfizer used this week's birthday celebrations for its pharmaceutical star to reflect on things to come. Despite less than stellar results in early trials of Viagra on women with physical sex problems, researchers and drug companies, lured by the promise of a whole new market bonanza for female users, are racing to come up with a woman's Viagra. Researchers say that to be a sales hit, a woman's Viagra will have to tap into differences between male and female sexual response. Viagra tester Dr. Steve Kaplan was all over the papers this week with his assessment of the road ahead: "If you ask me," he told reporters, "I think medications that affect arousal and desire will be more of a winner with women." So the race is for a new pharmaceutical star, one that will stimulate women's brains. They're called libido-enhancers. Already, an Atlanta-Japanese joint venture is testing a new pill for women they hope will do so. They've tentatively named their new star Uprima. Like Viagra, the catchy name has three syllables and ends in "a." In the next year, brace yourself for news of more potential "libido enhancers," potential cash cows that can not only improve performance, but even create desire, in men and women. I wish I could get excited about that news, but the image of a pill that could arouse women's libidos without benefit of emotional involvement conjures up images of Monica Lewinsky. Is this our brave new world? expressnews.com

To: BigKNY3 who wrote (7285)	3/25/1999 11:55:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 9523

Pharmacists expect brisk sales of Viagra March 25, 1999 Duncan Thorne Journal Staff Writer Edmonton Viagra is here and pharmacists are expecting potent sales, judging by the advance calls they've had from doctors and customers. "I can't say I've seen this much interest in a new drug for a long time," pharmacist Michael Stanley said Wednesday, as his drug store in the Professional Building became one of the first Canadian outlets to get the anti-impotence pill. Most other pharmacies receive their shipments today. Family doctors, specialists and members of the public have been calling since Health Canada approved Viagra earlier this month, said Stanley, owner of the Dispensaries Ltd. chain. He said the last time people were so excited about a prescription drug was about 20 years ago, when the stomach-acid medicine Taganet appeared. Viagra has faced huge demand since first hitting the market last year in the United States. It's the first of a new class of drugs that treat erectile dysfunction in men by improving blood flow to the penis. As of Wednesday, Stanley had just one prescription to fill and five four-pill boxes of the drug. The boxes each feature a hologram -- unusual on medications -- because counterfeiting has been a problem in the U.S. Stanley expects orders to surge once people realize Viagra is available. "From the questions and calls we've received, I've a feeling that (adequate) stocks may be an issue." From the experience of the first nine months of U.S. sales, Pfizer Canada estimates 300,000 Canadian men with impotence will seek the drug over the next nine months. Pfizer initially expected to take until the end of March before having enough of the blue pills for wide availability. It announced Wednesday that it boosted production at its Ontario plant to beat the target by almost a week. Dr. Randall Abele, an Edmonton urologist who treats impotence, said the sudden availability is good news for patients who have had to endure the wait in Canada. "It's more user-friendly than some of the other methods." Until Viagra, the choices were pumps, penile implants, and medications injected or inserted like suppositories into the penis. "The pharmacists will be quite popular," Abele said. "I've written a lot of prescriptions already." Although he's been busy consulting patients in the lead up to Viagra's availability, he doesn't expect a sudden increase in calls over the next day or two. That's because he sees people by referral only, so they must first see their family doctors. General practitioners are also able to prescribe the drug, Abele added. Pharmacists across Edmonton said they've been waiting for Viagra's arrival since Health Canada's approval. "We've had lots of inquiries," said Amy Gillespie at the Eaton Centre Shoppers Drug Mart. "We've had quite a few calls about it and we have some prescriptions waiting," said a pharmacist who would not give her name, at London Drugs at 104th Avenue and 117th Street. "There's been such a big buildup. Ever since Viagra came out (in the U.S.), we've had questions." Donna Kowalishin, pharmacist at the Kingsway Garden Mall Shoppers Drug Mart, said that "some people have asked about it on repeated occasions." Darrin Berlin, pharmacist for Dispensaries Ltd. at Cedars Professional Park, said prospective buyers tend to be older men. But members of Berlin's hockey team have also been asking about it, wondering if it can improve their sexual performance. "It has been a running joke." edmontonjournal.com