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

To: Nemer who wrote (2066)	5/24/1999 10:33:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2539

Nemar, it's all the bad news last week: food labeling news in the EU and all over the world, for that matter, gm-maize/Monarch butterfly, Vioxx approval etc.

To: Nemer who wrote (2066)	5/24/1999 11:25:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 2539

Monsanto falls after Vioxx approved Monday May 24, 10:37 am Eastern Time CHICAGO, May 24 (Reuters) - Shares of life sciences company Monsanto Co. fell sharply in early Monday trading after a rival compound to its Celebrex arthritis drug won approval from the Food and Drug Administration Friday, analysts said. Shares of St. Louis-based Monsanto were trading 2-1/2 lower at 41-13/16. Merck and Co Inc.'s (NYSE:MRK - news) once-a-day Vioxx drug was approved as expected after an earlier FDA panel recommendation but analysts said Monsanto shares fell nonetheless. ''It (the Vioxx approval) was expected but there was some uncertainty as to how it would go down,'' said Argus Research analyst James Kelleher. Unlike G.D. Searle's Celebrex, which was approved only for rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, Vioxx got an additional indication it sought for acute general and menstrual pain. Searle is a unit of Monsanto. Kelleher noted that the labels for the two drugs are similar in that both contain warnings about possible gastrointestinal side effects. Analysts said competition between the two compounds promises to be fierce as they are the first in a class of COX-2 inhibitors, designed to treat pain without harmful side effects. Celebrex became the most successful drug launch ever about three months into sales, topping the previous weekly best-seller Viagra.