Generic Lipitor Will Soon Become Official
The Pfizer-made, blockbuster cholesterol-lowering pill, Lipitor (atorvastatin calcium), will soon be available in generic versions made by different pharmaceutical companies worldwide.
Lipitor is the top selling medication with millions of patients using it worldwide. It is unfortunate for Pfizer (developer and manufacturer of Lipitor) that their U.S. patent on this drug expires in the upcoming 2010.
Other drug makers are thronging to get U.S. marketing approval for their generic copies of Lipitor. Dr. Reddy’s (a giant Indian pharmaceutical company) has filed for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for their generic version of Lipitor.
This is great news for Lipitor consumers, because the more competition there is, the lower the prices get.
A Shipment of Thousands of Fake Viagra Pills Seized in Miami
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Miami International Airport confiscated 21,600 counterfeit Viagra tablets (about 50 pounds of the little blue pills).
The shipment was seized on Oct 9, and was coming from India, where many illegal, fake drug manufacturers operate.
Samples of the pills were sent to a lab for testing, which confirmed that the pills were not genuine Pfizer made Viagra, nor anything close to it, i.e. the pills were meant to rip off ignorant consumers.
This is not the first, and will not be the last time that such shipments of bogus drugs are seized. Customers who purchase Viagra online, or from an unlicensed local retailer without a prescription usually fall a victim to bad people (or criminals) who traffic fake Viagra.
Pfizer Canada Launches a New Viagra “Confession” Commercial
The new Pfizer Canada ad for Viagra, created by Taxi Canada, shows a wife busy with redecoration while the husband confesses: “Redecorating was ruining our lives…”
But what does redecorating have to do with Viagra? Well, market research showed that many couples who lack intimacy fill it up with redecoration instead. “So I tried Viagra, and my redecorating practically disappeared,” the husband concludes.
However, what the ad suggests is not always true. Viagra cannot create intimacy or love for you. The drug can only help with the “mechanical” part of love, but to have closeness back in your relationship you have to do more than just pop a pill. You have to sit down, talk, listen, care, do, change, etc.
Anyway, here’s my personal opinion of this new commercial:
Funny: No.
Creative: Not really.
Makes sense: Only to those who do not know what love is.
I think Pfizer has had/can do better commercials than this one. Anyway, please watch the video below and write your own opinion/comment about it.
Can Tamiflu Beat Viagra at Spam?
Today I stumbled upon a CNN news article (published in July 2009), which reports that the famous anti-flu drug Tamiflu has recently become a huge target of many spammers to the point that it “out-spam” Viagra.
Spammers have been sending tons of junk emails pushing fake Tamiflu since swine flu was declared a global pandemic last June. The report adds that most sites that used to sell fake Viagra started to offer Tamiflu besides/instead of it, hoping to make a fortune out of this highly on-demand flu treatment, especially with the beginning of flu season (autumn) and the fast worldwide spread of swine flu.
Anyway, I say no way any other product could out-spam Viagra. There might be other products that get occasional spammer focus, but Viagra stays the all-time spammer favorite. Tamiflu spam might have gotten a boost due to the swine flu pandemic, but as soon as the H1N1 vaccine doses become available for the public (this October) and everyone is protected against this deadly virus, Tamiflu demand will decrease and get back to normal and most spammers will lose interest in it. But men will never stop asking for bigger erections and thus Viagra spam will never fade away.
So, why is there so much Viagra spam? And why do most spammers target Viagra?
The reason for that is the “online popularity” of Viagra.
Viagra is very popular on the Internet. That’s because it is considered an “embarrassment drug”, i.e. most patients would feel uncomfortable or embarrassed to ask a doctor for a Viagra prescription. And since most men would be reluctant to discuss their sexual problems with someone else, even their doctor, they try to find a more discreet way to obtain this medication and so they go online to purchase it privately.
On the other hand, almost no one would be embarrassment to ask their doctor or pharmacist for Tamiflu.
Just for comparison, according to Google’s keyword research tool, the search term “buy Viagra” has received about 1,000,000 searches during the month of August alone, while the term “buy Tamiflu” has only received about 14,800 searches during the same period of time. This suggests that Tamiflu’s online sales are not even close to Viagra’s. Even the closest Viagra rival, Cialis, only got about 450,000 searches for the term “buy Cialis” during the month of August.
By far, no other drug has been bigger or better-selling than Viagra on the Internet. Also, the controversy about Viagra has long made this product part of people’s culture. And that’s why most spammers choose to promote Viagra.
Viagra Cream Will Soon Compete With ED Pills
The revolutionary ED drugs; Viagra, Cialis and Levitra could soon be available in a safer and quick-acting form as rub-on cream.
Recent researches and lab tests showed that some drugs (including PDE5 inhibitors like Viagra, Cialis and Levitra) can be administered topically through the skin and supplied directly to the affected area.
In the case of ED medications, the cream would be applied directly to the genitals, which should lessen the side effects and risks of the drug and improve its effectiveness since its effect would be mainly restricted to the targeted part of the body, instead of being circulated throughout the whole body.
Currently, clinical tests are only being conducted on animals (specifically the poor rats!), but human tests and studies could start soon if animal tests continued to prove the safety and success of this method.
But don’t expect to see such products in the market soon, because experts say that at least 10 years could be required to get this medication approved and available for public consumption.
The Science Daily has a news article with more details about this new nanoparticle-based Viagra lotion.
Eli Lilly to Reduce Jobs by 14%
By the end of 2011, the giant drug maker Eli Lilly is set to cut down its work force by 14%, which means that nearly 5,500 of Lilly’s employees will lose their jobs.
Lilly’s objective from this move is to cut their annual costs by $1 billion, as many of their best sellers will lose patent protection in a couple of years.
The company will also restructure itself into five units: cancer, diabetes, emerging markets, established markets, and Elanco (Lilly’s animal health business).
They also plan to get quick approval for new medications and bring them into the U.S. and global market.
Read more about Eli Lilly plans at NY Times.
Pfizer Sued Over Off-Label Marketing of Viagra
The U.S. Justice Department held Pfizer accountable for fraudulent promotions and off-label marketing of some of its top selling drugs, including Viagra (sildenafil citrate), Lipitor (atorvastatin), and others.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has filed a lawsuit against the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc in the past charging them for deceitful and irresponsible promotions of their erectile dysfunction drug “Viagra”, which, according to AHF, has helped increase the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including HIV/AIDS. AHF welcomed the ruling and praised the U.S. Justice Department for it.
It was also reported that Pfizer agreed to pay a $1.2 billion (largest ever) criminal fine. But will Pfizer learn the lesson this time, or their big profits are totally worth a few-billion fines from time to time?
Read the full news article at Reuters.com.
A New Sweet Viagra Alternative: Ice Cream
Nowhere else but in London can you literally get sweet sex!
A new energy-boosting ice cream called the Sex Pistol will be soon available at the Icecreamist boutique in Selfridges, London.
This sweet and creamy treat contains natural libido-boosters such as ginkgo, arginine, biloba and guarana, served with a shot of La Fee Absinthe, which improves blood flow and gets your boner up and pumping!
This new Viagra ice cream, or vice cream, will only be sold to 18+ adults and only one per customer.
That’s definitely worth a trip to London, isn’t it? I don’t think it would be practical to ship ice cream internationally.
Cialis Getting Closer to Viagra in Sales
Since Eli Lilly’s recent introduction of the brand new once-a-day Cialis and their sales of this medication have been going up and up. Just in the Q2 of 2009, Cialis sales went up by 16% in the US, while Viagra’s increase was only 4% (Lilly Q2 report).
Many experts expect Cialis to overthrow Pfizer’s little blue pill (Viagra) in the upcoming years, which just makes sense.
Lilly has been more creative with their brand and advertisements for Cialis than Pfizer has been with their Viagra plans.
If Pfizer does not start getting more creative and creating more compelling commercials for their erectile dysfunction drug, Cialis will very soon take over Viagra’s spot as the #1 ED medication.