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Blood pressure pill OK'd
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October 3, 1997: 2:00 p.m. ET
Drug is first of two co-developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s stock rose Friday after the Federal Drug Administration approved an anti-hypertension drug that the company developed with French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi.
Avapro, also known by its generic name, irbesartan, should be on the market by the end of the year, said Bob Laverty, a spokesman for Bristol-Myers.
"Obviously we have high hopes for the drug," Laverty said.
The two companies joined forces in the early 1990s to develop the drug, Laverty said. Sanofi discovered it. He declined to elaborate about the arrangement, or how the companies would divide profits and costs.
Analysts said the drug would help Bristol-Myer break into the lucrative market of hypertension medication.
"This will help them make inroads in the market," said Barney Rosen of Argus Research. One advantage of the medicine is it has less severe side effects than others on the market, he said.
The European Union approved irbesartan in August.
Sanofi was drawn to Bristol-Myers (BMY) because of its strong presence in drugs to combat cardiovascular problems, Laverty said.
The FDA is scheduled to review a second drug developed by the two companies on Oct. 24, Laverty said. That medication, called Plavix or its generic name, clopidogrel, is an anti-platelet agent to prevent strokes.
Hypertension affects 60 million people a year in the United States alone. World spending on hypertension treatment totaled $12 billion in 1995. Only 21 percent of people with high blood pressure are under medication. 
-- Martine Costello
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