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------------------------------------------------------------------------ Impotence drug could be big winner ------------------------------------------------------------------------ NEW YORK (October 31, 1997 1:28 p.m. EST http://www.nando.net) - Pfizer's Viagra, an experimental drug for impotence, could be one of the biggest blockbuster drugs ever, some Wall Street analysts say. Pfizer Inc. Chairman William Steere told Reuters he believed Viagra, now awaiting approval from federal regulators, is "clearly the most interesting drug" in his company's pipeline of drugs under development. "Because there's no comparable (pill) form of therapy anywhere, people seem to be fascinated by this drug. So I assume it will have a fairly rapid acceptance and a high use rate," Steere said. Taken about an hour before sexual activity, Viagra restores a man's ability to get an erection by blocking an enzyme -- phosphodiesterase -- that inhibits normal erection. Pfizer has estimated 140 million men worldwide have problems achieving erections, including 20 million to 30 million in the United States. Steele said Viagra had the advantage of being the first oral medication for the problem. If approved, it would compete against Pharmacia & Upjohn's Caverject, which involves an injection into the penis, and Vivus Inc.'s Muse system, where a medication is inserted into the tip of the penis. Pfizer is also testing the pill in women to see how strongly it stimulates those with lagging sexual arousal. Some analysts are predicting Viagra, which received fast-track review two weeks ago from the Food and Drug Administration, will be launched in early 1998 and eventually become a multi-billion dollar blockbuster drug. "I hereby make the outrageous claim that Viagra will become the world's biggest drug success story -- bigger than anything that has ever been seen," said David Saks, a drug analyst for Gruntal & Co. "The potential market for Viagra is as high as any existing drug. Any number is possible," said analyst Viren Mehta. "The United States has an aging population with declining sexual function but it places a great value on virility," he said, adding that "a lifestyle drug" like Viagra could win many converts. Pfizer has said Viagra, whose chemical name is sildenafil, showed "remarkable" rates of response among 550 male patients who took the pill during clinical trials over a year. It said erectile dysfunction in about 25 percent of patients was believed due to organic causes, including arteriosclerosis. The problem was linked to psychological causes in another 25 percent, and a mixture of organic and psychological causes in the remaining half of patients. Pfizer gauged the effectiveness of Viagra by asking patients and their partners to fill in questionaires following sexual activity about how satisfactory the experience was. In 21 trials involving 4,500 patients, the favorable response rate was 59 percent among those with organic causes of dysfunction, 81 percent among those with psychological causes and 74 percent with mixed causes, Pfizer said. "The letters I get from grateful patients who have been on Viagra in clinical trials -- and letters from their wives -- have been dramatic," said Steere, Pfizer's chief executive. "They say, 'You've taken me from darkness and hell to lightness and quality of life. God bless you,' " he said. Copyright 1997 Nando.net Copyright 1997 Reuters <http://www.nando.net/newsroom/ntn/health/103197/health10_10022_noframes.html> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ janet paterson - 50/9 - sinemet/selegiline/prozac - [log in to unmask]