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Patent win lifts Pfizer shares

...Shares of Pfizer rose $1.74 to close at $24.32 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, after rising as much as 12 percent earlier, the biggest gain in at least 25 years.

They had dropped 16 percent this year through Friday.

The company's shares rose 10.3 percent on Oct.

21, 1987.

Shares of U.S.

drug makers Merck & Co., Lilly and Bristol- Myers Squibb Co.

also soared.

Merck increased $2.24, or 7.5 percent, to $32.25, Bristol-Myers rose 47 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $22.49 and Lilly increased 93 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $57.59.

Bristol-Myers is facing a patent challenge to its Plavix blood-thinner medicine.

The issue of generic medicine is also of concern to employers and pharmacy benefit managers, since the use of generic drugs can save them millions of dollars a year.

General Motors Corp., which is seeking to reduce costs that the company says puts it at a disadvantage to rivals, will spend about $5.6 billion this year on health care.

The shares of pharmacy benefit managers, including Medco Health Solutions Inc., and managed care companies, like WellPoint Inc., dropped Monday.

Yet, analysts said they were reluctant to blame the Lipitor ruling for the declines.

"You're just seeing some reallocation of funds within health care," said David Heupel, a Minneapolis-based portfolio manager at Thrivent Investment Management.

"Most people have probably not been big into the pharmaceutical names because they haven't provided any growth,...

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