Drug Stocks Suffer Little Damage

Major drug stocks suffered relatively little collateral damage Thursday, despite the plunge in Merck & Co.’s shares after it withdrew its Vioxx arthritis drug from the market.

Eli Lilly & Co. was hit hardest among other drug giants, falling $1.80 to $60.05.

Pfizer Inc., which makes Celebrex -- a rival to Vioxx -- gained 42 cents to $30.60.

Among other drug leaders, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. slipped 19 cents to $23.67, AstraZeneca lost 14 cents to $41.13 and Johnson & Johnson fell 70 cents to $56.33, while Schering-Plough Corp. rose 56 cents.

In the biotech sector, Amgen Inc. lost $1.18 to $56.81 and Genentech Inc. rose 28 cents to $52.42.

“Pfizer’s Celebrex is likely to pick up the lion’s share that Vioxx will be forced to lose as a result of today’s information,” said Phil Orlando, manager of the $300-million Federated Large Cap Growth Fund in New York, whose biggest holding is Pfizer. “Pfizer at $30 is extraordinarily attractive,” he said.

But for similar experimental medicines -- drugs in the so-called Cox-2 class -- the hurdle may have just gotten higher.

Cox-2 drugs, which can cut the incidence of stomach-related side effects such as ulcers in patients taking older painkillers, have been a huge success since their introduction in 1999. That has led many companies to try to emulate Pfizer and Merck.

But the road to market hasn’t been easy. Novartis’ Prexige, in particular, has already been delayed because of concerns about side effects. Novartis shares fell 28 cents to $46.67 on Thursday.