NEW YORK - - Total prescriptions for Pfizer Inc.'s
(PFE) male impotence drug rose to 286,271 in the week ended May
1, up from 215,376 in the previous week, according to the market
research firm IMS Health.
New prescriptions
of the blockbuster drug rose to 269,842 in the week ended May
1, up from 207,868 in the previous week. The total prescription
figure includes renewals.
Half of all Viagra
prescriptions were written by primary-care physicians and a third
by urologists, IMS reported. That marks a sharp shift from the
first two weeks that the drug was on the market, in early April,
when half of the prescriptions for the drug were written by urologists
and the third by primary-care physicians. IMS also noted that
nearly 53% of Viagra prescriptions were paid entirely in cash
in the week ended May 1.
Prescriptions for
other impotence treatments, such as Vivus Inc.'s (VVUS) Muse
system and Pharmacia & Upjohn Inc.'s (PNU) Caverject system,
continued to fall in the wake of Viagra's success.
Total Muse prescriptions
in the week ended May 1 fell to 6,604 from 7,348 in the previous
week. During the same period, total Caverject prescriptions rose
to 4,321 from 4,253 for the prior week. However, new prescriptions
were slightly down in the week ended May 1, to 1,394 from 1,559
in the previous week.
While prescriptions
for Vivus' Muse continue to fall, don't count it out entirely,
some market observers said.
Paine Webber Inc.
analyst Charlie Olsziewski said Muse should benefit from the
dramatically increased number of impotent men who are for the
first time seeking treatment for their condition thanks to Viagra.
The Muse system, which
injects a drug through the urethra to treat impotence, should
be able to capture some of the patients who get no benefit from
Viagra, Olsziewski said. He expects a similar benefit for Pharmacia's
Caverject system, noting however that therapy may turn off many
men because it requires a needle injection into the penis.
New prescriptions
for the Muse continue to fall sharply but renewals have been
more steady, Olsziewski said. If new prescriptions do eventually
return, he believes they could start doing so in the next two
to four weeks.
Olsziewski said he
is bullish on Vivus' long-term prospects but added that he will
keep his neutral rating on the stock "until they can demonstrate
they can handle the fallout" from Viagra.
Paine Webber was an underwriter
of Vivus' follow-on offering in June 1996 of 2 million common
shares.
