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

To: BigKNY3 who wrote (7437)	4/18/1999 1:01:00 PM
From: BigKNY3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9523

With 23% U.S. Mkt Share, Celebrex Set To Launch In New Mkts By Melanie Trottman 04/16/1999 NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--After capturing a 23% share of the U.S. nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory market since its February launch, Monsanto Co.'s (MTC) arthritis drug Celebrex is set to launch in several new markets. The drug was approved for marketing in Canada Thursday and will launch there shortly, said Joe Papa, president of U.S. operations for Monsanto's G.D. Searle drug division. In the last few days, Celebrex has also been approved in Peru, Colombia and Hong kong, Papa told Dow Jones. "We will bring the product to market (in those places) as quickly as we can, " said Mike Cunnington, vice president of G.D. Searle's global arthritis franchise. Since its U.S. launch, more than 2.7 million prescriptions have been written for Celebrex, the first to market of a new class of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs. The new class of drugs, known as COX-2 inhibitors, are viewed as promising new treatments for arthritis sufferers because of their potential to sharply decrease the gastrointestinal side effects associated with older NSAIDs like ibuprofen and aspirin. Of the 2.7 million Celebrex prescriptions written so far in the U.S., 2.2 million have been new prescriptions, according to the company. Celebrex's launch has also sparked an expansion in the NSAID market, which has grown 20% year-to-date compared with a previous annual average growth rate of 1% to 2%, Papa said. The expanded market comes as more patients opt to use Celebrex, which was approved in January by the Food and Drug Administration for osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, the most severe form of this debilitating disease. Some arthritis patients who had stopped using traditional treatments altogether because of side effects have re-entered the market with Celebrex's launch. Others have switched from traditional treatments products to Celebrex. And soon, another drug expected to be made available in the U.S. will alter the competitive landscape. Merck & Co. (MRK) is expected to launch Vioxx, also a COX-2 inhibitor, in the U.S. in about two months. The drug is already marketed in Mexico, where Celebrex is also sold. On Tuesday, an FDA advisory committee will review clinical data on Vioxx. "For many of us, that will be the first real opportunity to see the real clinical data supporting this product," Cunnington said. "It will obviously be very interesting to see that data and see what questions the FDA has," he added. G.D. Searle executives said they welcome Vioxx to the market. "Searle has already been well positioned in arthritis as the No. 1 player," Papa said. As more patients become aware of their alternatives, the NSAID market will continue to expand, Searle executives expect. Celebrex was also recently launched in Argentina, Brazil and Switzerland.