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

To: JGoren who wrote (2050)	5/21/1999 11:14:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2539

Vioxx vs Celebrex from a Bloomberg update: More than 3.4 million prescriptions have been written for Celebrex, a Monsanto drug that Pfizer helps market, since U.S. sales began in January. The FDA didn't give Merck's drug much, if any, advantage over Monsanto's Celebrex on the prescribing label, said Jeffrey Chaffkin, an analyst with PaineWebber. ''The labels are essentially the same,'' he said. The good news for Merck is that the FDA didn't highlight questions about Vioxx's potential to cause water retention, Chaffkin said. Water retention, or edema, can be a concern for doctors treating elderly patients who already are at higher risk for some heart problems. Extensive Studies Still, Merck had hoped its extensive studies would let it say more about Vioxx's apparent lower risk of causing ulcers and irritation in the gastrointestinal tract, Chaffkin said. ''They didn't get as strong a label in the GI as they wanted,'' Chaffkin said. ''Right now, in terms of sheer revenue, I think that Celebrex will always have an advantage.'' Chaffkin estimated peak sales of Celebrex at $2 billion to $3 billion, with Vioxx more likely to sell in the bottom of that range. news.com