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Biotech / Medical : Pharma News Only (pfe,mrk,wla, sgp, ahp, bmy, lly) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (1569)	5/25/1999 8:03:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 1722

SmithKline says FDA approved diabetes drug Avandia Tuesday May 25, 7:31 pm Eastern Time PHILADELPHIA, May 25 (Reuters) - SmithKline Beecham Plc(quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: SB.L) (NYSE:SBH - news) has been granted U.S. regulatory approval to sell its Avandia drug for adult-onset type II diabetes, as a stand-alone therapy and in combination with another drug, metformin, the company said on Tuesday. Avandia, which will be co-marketed by British-based SmithKline Beecham and U.S.-based Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE:BMY - news), won a recommended rating from a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel last month. It is among the first three members of the new glitazone class of diabetes drugs, which include Rezulin, sold by New Jersey-based Warner-Lambert Co. (NYSE:WLA - news), and Actos, under development by Japan's Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd. . biz.yahoo.com

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (1569)	5/25/1999 8:08:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 1722

SmithKline's Diabetes Pill Avandia Wins U.S. Approval (Update1) Bloomberg News May 25, 1999, 7:39 p.m. ET SmithKline's Diabetes Pill Avandia Wins U.S. Approval (Update1) (Adds company comment, background in 3rd, 4th paragraphs.) Washington, May 25 (Bloomberg) -- SmithKline Beecham Plc said its diabetes pill Avandia won U.S. approval, giving the U.K. drugmaker a jump on a new rival medicine that's also vying to grab market share from Warner-Lambert Co.'s similar Rezulin. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved use of the SmithKline drug alone or in combination with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s diabetes medicine, Glucophage, the company said. The FDA also is reviewing Actos, a drug from Japan's Takeda Chemical that Eli Lilly & Co. will market in the U.S. Analysts expect doctors to begin prescribing Avandia rather than Rezulin because Rezulin has been linked to about 35 cases of death and serious liver damage. More than 1.5 million diabetics have tried Rezulin since 1997. SmithKline intends to lose no time getting Avandia to the U.S. market ahead of Actos. ''We plan on making the product commercially available in the next few days,'' Chief Executive Jan Leschly said in a statement. Early research suggests Avandia and Actos are less likely to cause liver damage than is Rezulin, a drug that Warner-Lambert licenses from Japan's Sankyo Co. SmithKline will work with Bristol-Myers to market Avandia. Analysts say Avandia and Actos could both achieve sales of more than $1 billion a year in what could become a $5-billion-a-year market for diabetes treatments. FDA approval of Avandia was expected today. SmithKline Beecham's American depositary receipts rose 15/16 to 62 1/8. Morris Plains, New Jersey-based Warner-Lambert fell 3/8 to 63 1/2.