SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 21, 2008 (AFP) - A US medical clinic revealed on Thursday that it is helping Google test a much-anticipated online health record service that promises to compete with one launched last year by Microsoft.

Cleveland Clinic in the state of Ohio said it plans to enroll up to 10,000 patients in an invitation-only private pilot project in collaboration with the California Internet titan.

The Google Health service is crafted to let patients use the Internet to efficiently and privately share their medical information with various health care providers and pharmacies, according to the clinic.

"We believe patients should be able to easily access and manage their own health information," Google vice president Marissa Mayer said in a written release.

Google chose Cleveland Clinic because it already lets patients manage electronic medical records online.

"The partnership with Google is an example of true innovation in health care which brings value to patients and providers," said clinic chief executive Delos Cosgrove, who is a member of Google's Health Advisory Council.

"As the volume of medical information available to patients increases, it becomes more important for doctors and patients to use this information in a way that empowers the patient to be more collaborative with their care providers."

The collaboration will let Google test software tools built to allow patients to securely exchange medical information such as prescriptions, allergies, and illnesses with health care providers, according to the clinic.

In October, Google rival Microsoft launched HealthVault software and services designed to let people store and selectively share medical records.

Feb. 21--Pfizer is spending $195 million to snap up Houston-based Encysive Pharmaceuticals, a small outfit with big hopes for a breakthrough drug that, so far, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has snubbed.

The FDA deemed as "approvable" Encysive's once-a-day pill Thelin, a drug to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension. But the federal regulator will not give its final blessing to market the drug in the U.S. until after another costly Phase III human trial.

Encysive CEO George Cole said the company doesn't have the means to fund more research. Pfizer, the largest drug maker in the world with $20 billion in cash on its balance sheet, does.

New York-based Pfizer is the force behind many of today's most popular and most commonly prescribed drugs, including Lipitor and Xanax. The company will pay $2.35 per share for Encysive, a premium of almost 120 percent over Tuesday's closing price of $1.08 per share.

The companies hope to close the deal in the second quarter of this year.

On Wednesday, Pfizer shares were up 10 cents to $22.47, and Encysive's were up $1.19 to $2.27.

In a written statement, Ian Read, Pfizer's president of worldwide pharmaceutical operations, said Encysive complements cardio-pulmonary work his researchers already are doing.

Read compared Thelin to Revatio, which Pfizer markets to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension, a disease of the arteries and blood vessels connecting the heart and lungs that can cause extremely high blood pressure.

PAH is thought to afflict between 100,000 and 200,000 people -- mostly women -- in North America and Europe, according to the companies.

While Pfizer markets Revatio to treat PAH, the same substance under the name Viagra is used to treat erectile dysfunction. Because such drugs improve blood flow, it's thought they can help constricted vessels in the heart and lungs.

According to Encysive, Thelin works in a one-two punch by blocking a chain of amino acids that constrict blood vessels and then dilating those vessels to reduce pressure inside them.

Pfizer executives wouldn't comment on whether Thelin could be marketed as an erectile dysfunction treatment in the future.

Encysive has already received marketing approval and sells Thelin in much of Europe as well as Canada and Australia.

Encysive has 75 employees in Houston and another 75 in Europe. Pfizer would not say Tuesday whether the Houston office will remain open.

The clock is ticking on the patents of many big pharmaceutical companies' drugs. Pfizer, like many other drug makers, has been buying smaller companies in the hopes that something in their research pipelines will provide a big payoff.