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Viagra boosts Pfizer's net
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July 9, 1998: 6:11 p.m. ET
Viagra sales allow Pfizer to beat estimates, Vivus posts a loss
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Buoyed by the sale of its new Viagra impotence pill, pharmaceutical powerhouse Pfizer Inc. Thursday posted a staggering 38 percent jump in second quarter earnings.
The New York-based health-care company earned $628 million in the three months ended in June, compared with $457 million a year ago. Earnings per diluted share reached 47 cents - 2 cents above analysts' estimates and a 34 percent increase over last year's same-quarter earnings of 35 cents.
Revenues soared 25 percent to $3.6 billion.
"While we caution that it is too early to make long-range projections about sustainable Viagra prescription levels, the initial response has been truly extraordinary," said William C. Steere, Jr., Pfizer's chairman and chief executive officer. "Its strong acceptance by physicians and patients attests to Viagra's safety and efficacy and its benefits for many men and their partners."
Viagra sales soared to $411 million
With sales of $411 million worldwide, including $409 million in the U.S., Viagra was Pfizer's second-largest-selling product worldwide and its largest-selling U.S. product in the quarter.
Pfizer said approximately 2.7 million Viagra prescriptions had been filled in the U.S., the most ever for any pharmaceutical in its first quarter. More than 160,000 physicians, including more than 95 percent of the country's urologists, have written prescriptions for the impotence pill.
Viagra, the first federally-approved pill to treat impotence, was given market approval by the Food and Drug Administration in late March.
The product, one of the most successful drug product launches in history, has become a veritable windfall for Pfizer, helping to more than double its market capitalization in the past year to $151 billion.
However, it has also been the source of controversy. Last month, shares of Pfizer fell on news the Food and Drug Administration had received reports of 30 men dying after taking Viagra.
In addition, several large Health Maintenance Organizations recently said they would not include Viagra in new benefit plans.
Most of the fatalities linked to Viagra to date are elderly men, many of whom already suffered other health problems. Pfizer also found that some of the deaths occurred after men mixed Viagra with nitrate-based drugs, something the company warns against on the Viagra label.
"Patients taking nitrates in any form, including nitroglycerin and long-acting nitrates commonly used for chest pain, should not take Viagra," the company reiterated Thursday. "In addition, patients taking Viagra should not be administered nitrates. Large and sudden drops in blood pressure can occur with the co-administration of these two drugs. Used appropriately, Viagra meets a major medical need that can profoundly affect the quality of life for couples."
Pfizer said it expects to introduce Viagra in about 50 countries by the end of 1998.
The company said several other drugs also sold well in the quarter, including its alliance products, Lipitor and Aricept; and Trovan.
Aricept is a treatment for Alzheimer's disease, Lipitor is used to lower cholesterol, and Trovan is a multipurpose antibiotic.
In related news, drug competitor Vivus Inc. of Mountain View, Calif. on Thursday reported a $24.2 million loss for the quarter ended June 30, compared with net income of $10 million for the same period in 1997.
Vivus, (VVUS), attributed the loss to "the commercial U.S. launch of Viagra" and the resulting loss of demand for its own erectile dysfunction products.
Pfizer stock (PFE) closed up 2 points Thursday at 115-1/2 on the New York Stock Exchange.
The company's high-flying stock has climbed sharply from a low of about 51 per share last August. (Click here to see a chart of Pfizer's stock activity)
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