Schizophrenia Drugs to Be Reviewed at Meeting

Pfizer Inc. will try to persuade doctors, investors and analysts Tuesday that its Geodon schizophrenia drug has fewer side effects than Eli Lilly & Co.’s rival Zyprexa, using the first head-to-head studies of Pfizer’s challenger to the leader in that class of medicines.

Pfizer-sponsored research is expected to show Geodon is less likely than Zyprexa to cause weight gain or other side effects.

Other studies to be presented at the American Psychiatric Assn.’s meeting this week look at Geodon’s safety; it’s been linked to abnormal heart rhythms in clinical trials.

The fiercest marketing battle will be fought between Pfizer, whose Geodon could become a $1-billion blockbuster, and Lilly, whose biggest drug, Zyprexa, is expected to have 2001 sales of more than $2.5 billion. Lilly will defend Zyprexa with studies showing how doctors might minimize patient weight gain.

“The head-to-head study will give a little more fuel to the fire,” said John Borzilleri, manager of the State Street Health Sciences Fund. “Everyone knows that Zyprexa causes weight gain. People are concerned about the cardiac issues with” Geodon.

Investors and analysts will watch for news too, on experimental drugs at the annual conference, expected to draw at least 17,000 people to New Orleans. Presentations may give investors an idea of how a potential successor to Forest Laboratories Inc.’s Celexa antidepressant may fare in one of the world’s most competitive markets for medicines, worth $12 billion.

Studies on antidepressants made by such companies as American Home Products Corp., Akzo Nobel NV and Pharmacia Corp. will be presented, some comparing two drugs and others looking at new uses for the medicines, such as treating anxiety.

Findings on Lilly’s experimental duloxetine antidepressant and its drug for attention-deficit disorder also will be unveiled, and research will be presented on drugs for Alzheimer’s disease.