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

To: BigKNY3 who wrote (7572)	5/2/1999 9:27:00 PM
From: Mick Mørmøny	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9523

An Import That Japan Likes Don't worry. This isn't another Viagra joke. The fact remains, though, that Viagra's wonders never cease. The latest evidence? The pill has inspired Japanese bureaucrats to move with, relatively speaking, lightning speed. Consider: the low-dose birth control pill has for years dominated the contraceptive market in the United States and elsewhere. Among industrial nations, only Japan failed to approve it. The application has been languishing for a decade there -- a molasses-like timetable that is apparently typical of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. When these sober bureaucrats caught wind of Viagra, though, they flew into action, giving it the go-ahead in a head-turning six months. Could the difference have anything to do with the ministry consisting of 198 men and 6 women? Absolutely, critics say. "Japan is a male-dominated society," said Tomoko Adachi, a Tokyo gynecologist. "Many Japanese women do not even want to have Viagra." In fact, said urologist Takaaki Minami, "Many women who have gone through menopause say that Viagra will be a nuisance." Nuisance or no, Japanese men are jubilant. Shigeharu Kobayashi, an insurance executive, said, "I'm 60 years old, but I think I'm 16." -- By HUBERT B. HERRING The NY Times, 5/2/99