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Sebelius on Vaccines

24 Nov 2009

Discussing whether a new $487M investment from the government will help speed up the production of the most important vaccines, with Kathy Sebelius, Health & Human Services secretary and CNBC's Mike Huckman.

The New Formula for Faster Vaccines

24 Nov 2009

Novartis is opening on Tuesday the country's first plant to produce flu vaccines using cell cultures. These vaccines are faster, better and cheaper to make than egg-based methods, reports CNBC's Mike Huckman.

Novartis Opens 1st US Plant for Flu Vaccine

24 Nov 2009

Cholesterol Drug Battle: Niaspan vs. Zetia 16 Nov 2009
Abbott Laboratories' Niaspan beat Merck's Zetia in a new study. CNBC's Mike Huckman has the details.

Cardiologist Grades Cholesterol Drug Study

16 Nov 2009

Abbott Laboratories' Niaspan beat Merck's Zetia in a new study. Dr. Steven Nissen, chairman of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at The Cleveland Clinic, shares his reaction with CNBC's Mike Huckman.

Merck's Cholesterol Drugs Under Pressure

16 Nov 2009

A new study is putting Merck's cholesterol drugs under pressure today, reports CNBC's Mike Huckman, with Ken Frazier, Merck Global Human Health president.

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CNBC ON DIGG

Eli Lilly's Economic Measuring Stick

Published: Wednesday, 21 Oct 2009 | 12:12 PM ET

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By: Mike Huckman
CNBC Correspondent

The folks at Eli Lilly [LLY Loading... () ] probably cringe every time I go here, but the company this morning reported that third quarter U.S. sales of the erectile dysfunction drug Cialis sprung 13 percent to nearly $159 million.

In the earnings press release LLY says Cialis sales were "driven by higher demand and, to a lesser extent, increased net effective selling prices." Net effective selling prices? Who says that? Speak plain English, please. "We jacked up the price because we know we've got a red hot drug people want." How's that? Okay, maybe it's a bit over the line, but you get my point.

On "Squawk Box" this morning, my colleague Carl Quintanilla suggested Cialis' success may be a function of the recession. People are staying at home more and you know what. The per pill cost of Cialis ain't cheap but, I guess, it's slightly less expensive than the cost of two people going out for dinner and a movie. Recently Lilly's been running full-page newspaper ads with giant coupons for Cialis.

But it also looks like Cialis is continuing to take share from Pfizer's Viagra. PFE reported yesterday that Q3 revenue in the U.S. for the ED original fell one percent to $232 million. So, it's still the impotence fighting drug of choice in America, but Cialis keeps gaining on it. GlaxoSmithKline, Schering-Plough (soon to be Merck) and Bayer share Levitra, which isn't much of a threat.

Group of Securities

Worldwide, PFE's Q3 Viagra sales clocked in at $466 million, down eight percent. While LLY's global Cialis revenue jumped five percent to nearly $400 million.

Pfizer's tagline for awhile was "Viva Viagra." Because it lasts 36 hours, the French have nicknamed Cialis "Le Weekend." So, maybe Lilly should try "Cialis: C'est si bon."

Questions? Comments? and follow me on Twitter at mhuckman