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.
Pfizer’s Viagra Price Doubled Since 1998
From Viagra’s approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1998 and until present time, Viagra price has almost doubled.
The following table shows how Viagra price has gradually risen during the past decade (numbers are approximate – data obtained from BNET):
| Year | Price in USD (Per Pill) |
| 2009 | $13.88 |
| 2008 | $12.50 |
| 2007 | $10.50 |
| 2006 | $9.55 |
| 2005 | $8.93 |
| 2004 | $8.51 |
| 2003 | $8.10 |
| 2002 | $7.67 |
| 2001 | $7.45 |
| 2000 | $7.22 |
| 1999 | $7.00 |
These remarkable and continuing raises in Viagra’s price by its maker, Pfizer, can be attributed to some different reasons explained below.
The first and foremost cause of Viagra’s increased price is the loads of money that Pfizer has to spend on the promotion of this medication. Pfizer has spent millions of dollars all over the globe in order to keep their precious brand “Viagra” above all other competitor brands, especially Eli Lilly’s Cialis and Bayer’s Levitra.
Another factor that makes Pfizer increase the price of their drug is the “legal price” of maintaining this huge and controversial brand. Pfizer has faced countless lawsuits, and a considerable number of those lawsuits were regarding Viagra. Pfizer had to pay billions of dollars in legal fees and settlements over the years. By the way, just recently Pfizer has been sued and agreed to pay a record $1.2B criminal fine for fraudulent, off-label marketing of some of their drugs, including Viagra.
So, in order to afford maintaining the popularity of Viagra, Pfizer has to keep raising its price to cover their increasing costs, and still turn out with “decent” profits.
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.
Is Generic Viagra Illegal?
Most medications have a brand name version and a generic version. A generic drug contains the same active ingredient/s found in its brand name counterpart.
The active ingredient of Viagra is sildenafil citrate. Pfizer Inc is the only pharmaceutical company that holds worldwide patents on sildenafil citrate, and so no other manufacturer can make sildenafil citrate and sell it under any brand name as generic Viagra until Pfizer’s patents expire (most of them expire in 2011–2014).
As an example, Pfizer has recently won a Viagra patent dispute in Canada, where the Federal Court of Canada prohibited Novopharm (a Canadian generic pharmaceutical company) from making generic Viagra until Pfizer’s patent expires. (Source)
But many bad companies and dealers have been making lots of generic Viagra, most of which comes from India, China, and other third world countries were law enforcement is limp.
In addition to being illegal, a lot of the generic Viagra sold online for low prices was found to contain unknown, unapproved, and/or dangerous ingredients, which may lead to serious side effects or even death in some cases.
But does it work?
Yes, there are still a few “good” manufacturers who make “decent” generic Viagra (sildenafil citrate tablets), which works the same way as brand Viagra.