INFAMOUS DRUG MAKING COMEBACK TO TREAT CANCER

New York - Diagnosed with brain cancer, Elizabeth Narcessian did
not hesitate when her doctor prescribed thalidomide, the drug banned a
generation ago after it led to thousands of deformed babies.

``When you have a life-threatening illness and you are with a doctor
you trust, you do anything,'' said Narcessian, a 40-year-old physician
from Ridgewood, N.J., who credits the drug with helping to shrink her
tumor.

Thalidomide, approved by regulators in July to treat a complication
from leprosy, is making a comeback extending well beyond that rare
disease.

Narcessian's doctor is one of a growing number prescribing it for some
of the deadliest cancers even though tests have yet to definitively
prove it works.

Wall Street seems to have already decided. Shares in Celgene Corp.,
the only U.S. seller of thalidomide, have more than doubled in the
past month -- to about $16 -- after the company bought marketing
rights to the drug from its closest rival.

Analysts predict that thalidomide will post $45 million in sales this
year, $70 million in 2000 and possibly $300 million within five years.
While those are figures are small compared to the $3 billion in sales
generated by the world's top-selling drugs, the money would still
represent a huge payday for Celgene.

``Thalidomide has a lot more potential that most people originally
thought,'' said Maureen McEnroe, an analyst with HCFP Brenner
Securities in New York. ``People who did not believe in it are now
jumping on the bandwagon.''

Not everyone is convinced.

``Thalidomide does not yet appear to be a shining star,'' said Dr.
Ajrmon Eyre, executive vice president for research at the American
Cancer Society.

Eyre said the drug hasn't always worked and he prefers to see final
test results before reaching a conclusion on its effectiveness.

Even doctors who prescribe it do so only after other less dangerous
drugs fail.

Thalidomide, originally intended for morning sickness and as a
sedative for pregnant women, was banned worldwide in the 1960s after
causing 12,000 babies to be born with no limbs or flipperlike arms and
legs, serious facial deformities and defective organs.

The pill had been sold in 48 countries, though not in the United
States because a scientist with the Food and Drug Administration
blocked the approval. She was not satisfied with the safety assurances
from the manufacturer.

In the early 1990s, scientists discovered thalidomide could be a
potent treatment. In addition to cancer, testing is now under way in
patients with AIDS, lupus and other diseases.

Thalidomide, which Celgene sells under the brand name Thalomid, works
by cutting off the blood supply to tumors. When combined with
chemotherapy or radiation therapy, the cancer cells, in theory, die of
starvation.

Narcessian, a doctor who specializes in rehabilitation medicine, said
taking the drug makes her feel as if she is actively fighting the
cancer even after completing six weeks of radiation therapy. She said
she has experienced no side effects.

About 200 thalidomide prescriptions -- which cost $7.50 to $30 per
day, depending on the dosage -- are being written a week, according to
IMS Health, a market research firm. Nearly two-thirds of the
prescriptions were written for cancer patients.

Celgene allows prescriptions to be dispensed only by doctors and
pharmacists that the company trains about thalidomide's dangers. So
far, more than 2,000 physicians and 2,000 pharmacists have signed up.

The company also has strict rules to make sure pregnant women don't
take it. All women must undergo repeated pregnancy tests, and men and
women must sign statements acknowledging they were instructed to use
effective birth control.

Will patients take a drug with such a notorious past?

``You are talking about people on death's door,'' said Dr. Michael
Gruber, director of neuro-oncology at New York University Medical Center.

He said about two-thirds of the approximately 100 brain cancer
patients he has treated with thalidomide have responded positively;
one-third have seen their cancer disappear.

Narcessian said she hadn't planned to have any more children anyway,
and knows she made the right decision.

``I have an 8 year-old-daughter,'' she said. ``And last week she said,
`Mommy, you don't look sick anymore.''