What Will Happen When Viagra Goes Generic in 2012?

Thursday, November 05 2009

November 6, 2009

The cold, hard facts about Viagra are pretty straightforward. The Little Blue Pills now cost more than double what they did in 1998 when Viagra was brought to market. This is not good news for many men among our aging populace, especially if their erectile dysfunction is abated with Viagra. They can't just stop taking the medication - not without potentially dire consequences. The patent for Viagra does not run out until March 27, 2012 - a day that will certainly bring cost savings for Viagra dependents.

You can read more about what the effects of Viagra patent expiration mean to consumers in an exclusive article written for AccessRx.

The increasing price of Viagra has left many men to look for other options, including "generic" Viagra. Oftentimes, however, this is not a wise choice for men - many of whom are unaware that "generic" Viagra does not legally exist in the U.S. and is often manufactured in foreign countries with no oversight and regulation. The FDA reports at least half of these medications are found to be ineffective or harmful. These counterfeit drugs are cheaper, but basically, their contents are a mystery. Not a good trade-off.

Pfizer is trying to get all it can out of Viagra before the patent expires. In 2008, Pfizer reported $1.93 billion in revenues for Viagra. However, they may have gone a little too far with their rampant price increases because, for the first time in memory, Pfizer's revenues for Viagra actually dropped in Q3 of 2009. Pfizer has raised the price of Viagra 14 times since 1998, more frequently in recent years. Three of the last four price increases were 9 percent or more. 
 
But that won't stop Pfizer from passing along more bad news to men who depend on Viagra. Come the first of the year, Pfizer will almost certainly increase the price of Viagra again, just like they have every year since 2000. The big pharma companies continue to roll forward in this manner, even in the face of such setbacks as Pfizer's $2.3 billion fine (the largest in the history of mankind) levied by the FDA against Pfizer many months ago.

The only roadbloack ahead for Pfizer's Viagra - and it's a big one - is the March 27, 2012 date for patent expiration.

Brian Bujdos