Growing Older.

With a declining birthrate, longer life spans, and the inevitable aging of the baby boom generation, the American population grew older throughout the 1990s. This demographic change created demands for new therapies to combat the challenges of aging. In March 1997, for instance, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Viagra, the first pill for treatment of male impotence. By the third week in April, doctors were writing 120,000 prescriptions a week for the drug, and Pfizer stock jumped to new highs. Michael Podgurski, director of pharmacy at the four thousand-outlet Rite Aid drugstore chain, said, "It's the fastest takeoff of a new drug that I've ever seen, and I've been in the business for 27 years." In spite of its popularity and promise, Viagra was not a wonder drug and problems began to appear. Some men found it ineffective and, more seriously, by October 1998, at...