Update - Lilly ICOS' Viagra rival Cialis filed in USA

2 July 2001

Lilly ICOS LLC, the joint venture between Eli Lilly and ICOS Corp, hasfiled for approval to market Cialis (IC351) a new drug for erectile dysfunction in the same class as Pfizer's blockbuster Viagra (sildenafil). Shares in ICOS rose almost 7% to $64 on the day of the announcement (June 27) and continued to creep upwards to the end of the Marketletter's reporting period ended July 2. Lilly's share price dipped marginally to $73.68 on the day, but recovered with interest to close at $75.75.

Competitive position

Lilly ICOS believes that Cialis' profile, coupling a rapid onset and long duration of action, will allow it to mount a strong challenge to Viagra, which achieved sales of $1.34 billion last year. The company also claims that its drug has some safety advantages over Viagra, a result of its greater selectivity for the phosphodiesterase 5 enzyme which both drugs target, inc-luding an absence of visual disturbances reported in some men taking Pfizer's product.

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