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Biotech / Medical : Merck -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (1220)	5/22/1999 11:20:00 AM
From: William F. Wager, Jr.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1580

BUSINESS WEEK ONLINE~Vioxx May 21, 1999 Merck's New Painkiller: A Headache for Monsanto and Pfizer? With Vioxx getting its FDA O.K., Merck is set to launch a blitz Get ready for a marketing battle between two titans. Late on May 20, Merck received approval from the Food & Drug Administration for its new painkiller Vioxx. Vioxx will go up against a similar product, Celebrex, that is being promoted by Monsanto and marketing powerhouse Pfizer. Both drugs are part of new class called Cox-2 inhibitors that provide pain relief similar to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen but are expected to be easier on the stomach than the NSAIDs. Vioxx should be available in pharmacies around the country by the second week in June. Merck needs a big hit with Vioxx. A number of patents on some of the company's big drugs start expiring next year. Drug-patent expirations are usually followed by cheap, copycat versions from generic-drug makers that quickly grab most of the market from the original version. Merck is betting Vioxx will be a big enough hit to plug the hole from its drugs going off patent. STOMACH WARNING. But the Vioxx label doesn't appear to give Merck a big edge over Monsanto and Pfizer. The label will show that the drug led to a significantly lower number of ulcers in patients than ibuprofen. But it will also warn that this finding doesn't prove that patients taking Vioxx will have a lower incidence of serious gastrointestinal side effects. Long-term studies are under way to prove that. As a result, Vioxx -- like Celebrex -- will have to carry a warning about potential stomach side effects. But Merck will be able to promote Vioxx to doctors for use in treating acute pain -- something the Celebrex salespeople can not do. Still, Merck will have to unleash some serious marketing firepower if it wants to overtake Pfizer and Monsanto. Brown Brothers Harriman analyst Mike Krensavage says that's one reason why Merck is being aggressive on pricing. Vioxx, a once-daily medication, will have a wholesale price of about $2.02 a day -- the same as a once-daily dose of Celebrex. But some patients need to take Celebrex twice a day -- and the twice-daily dose costs $2.38. "It's going to come down to good, old-fashioned competition," says Krensavage of the coming fight for market share. Let the battle begin. By Amy Barrett in Philadelphia --Bill