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

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (7738)	5/26/1999 8:43:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9523

FOCUS-Court rules against UK Viagra limits (Rewrites with quotes, reaction, details) By Richard Meares LONDON, May 26 (Reuters) - Britain's initial attempts to limit Viagra on the state-funded National Health Service were branded illegal on Wednesday by the English High Court. Pfizer Ltd <PFE.N>, the British arm of the U.S. makers of the blue anti-impotence drug, hailed its legal victory but complained newer government guidelines from July, not covered by the ruling, meant the drug would still not be freely available. Ruling on Pfizer's legal challenge, the court said original government advice to doctors to prescribe Viagra for free only in exceptional circumstances was unlawful. Judge Justice Collins said the advice, given in a circular issued by the Health Department after the drug was approved for use in Britain last September, compromised doctors. "This was intended to be acted on by GPs (doctors) independently of whether, in their professional judgement, a patient needs treatment for erectile dysfunction and so should have the better treatment available, namely Viagra," he said. "Thus I am satisfied that the circular was and is unlawful." The government was granted leave to appeal. Pfizer said it would announce very soon if it would sue for lost profits. Pfizer had argued that the advice was illegal because Viagra was not on Department of Health lists of restricted drugs. Health Secretary Frank Dobson has superceded the circular with more detailed guidelines that come into force in July. He said NHS prescriptions of the drug, which costs nearly five pounds ($8) a tablet, should be limited to men who have been treated for prostate cancer and patients with conditions such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's Disease. Those who do not qualify can pay for the drug themselves after receiving a prescription from their doctor. "This judgment has made it clear that life has moved on," Dobson said after Wednesday's ruling. "The procedure we have followed in developing the new criteria for Viagra on the NHS...is in line with the judgment." The British Medical Association (BMA) says the government is discriminating against impotency sufferers who do not meet its strict criteria. The BMA welcomed Wednesday's ruling, and said its position all along had been that doctors should ignore the advice and prescribe the little blue diamond "as clinically appropriate". It said this recommendation would stay in force until July. Justice Collins said evidence before him suggested that 1.8 million British men suffered complete erectile dysfunction and another eight million were partially affected. He said Viagra was regarded as the most desirable treatment available for a condition which can lead to depressive illness and loss of self-esteem and confidence. But he acknowledged prescribing Viagra without limit would cost the NHS tens of millions of pounds (dollars) a year. Dobson says the budget for treating impotence could spiral to 10 times the current outlay of 10 to 12 million pounds. Funding of Viagra has caused a storm about treatment rationing in Britain, with some doctors and the BMA saying sufferers should be entitled to free access. Its cost has troubled health authorities around the world. Neighbouring Ireland said this month impotent men would be able to get free Viagra from doctors, but only four tablets a month -- the same ceiling that Britain wants to impose. Britain has said its policy is not out of line with others. "With the exception of Sweden, Viagra is not generally available in European Union countries at the expense of their healthcare system," the Department of Health said this month. Sales of Viagra worldwide slipped in the first quarter of this year to $193 million from $236 million in the last quarter of 1998 as some of the hysteria, which made it the fastest-selling new drug ever last year, subsided. But analysts expect full-year sales to top $1 billion. moneynet.com@NEWS-P2&Index=0&HeadlineURL=../News/NewsHeadlines.asp&DISABLE_FORM=&NAVSVC=News\Company