Friend says that he is cognizant of the fact that he's trailing Pfizer, and that he is investing in IGF-1 only because he thinks Merck can develop a market for the drug by having a better scientific understanding of how the drug works--and testing it in populations, and as part of drug combinations, where it will be most effective.

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"It's a really good way of testing if stuff works, because if you can hold the attention of a festival audience, then the kernel of a show is there, " explains Holmes.

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Only a handful of Works' customers are testing the system--and sales have dried to a trickle.

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