VIAGRA: Prudential Hedges Coverage Decision

      After announcing last week that it will not cover the blockbuster impotence drug Viagra, Prudential HealthCare now says it will "reconsider" the decision if more scientific data proving Viagra's safety comes to light, USA Today reports. Citing recent drug recalls, Prudential Vice President of Clinical Pharmacy Terry Sutherland said, "I don't believe we're saying the Food and Drug Administration is moving too rapidly in its approval process. There are just cases where we might be a little more protective than the FDA." He and other Prudential officials repeated concerns that Pfizer did not include "groups of men most likely to want to take" Viagra in clinical studies of the drug (Rubin, 7/8).

Brit Docs Say No Thanks
      The British Medical Association warned that the introduction of Viagra in Britain -- expected to take place in September -- could use up to a fifth of the nation's pharmacy budget, the London Times reports. At their annual meeting, BMA members determined that the drug will prevent specialists who prescribe it "from doing any other work" and that Viagra will "become a major drug of abuse." The BMA estimates that paying for Viagra will cost 1 billion British pounds annually (Murray, 7/8). BBC News reports that Public Health Minister Tessa Jowell has announced "that Viagra will be available on the National Health Service for those who clinically need it" (7/7).