News / Business
Exclusive Article on Viagra Patent Expiration and Generic Options Published by Online Pharmacy AccessRx.com
According to an exclusive research article written by BNET’s pharmaceutical reporter Jim Edwards, when Viagra’s patent expires, prices for all three FDA-approved erectile dysfunction (ED) drugs – including Cialis and Levitra – will plummet to compete with generics. Although this is not uncommon when patents for medications expire, it means that a new legion of men who won’t pay the current $20-plus for each ED pill may clamor out for help, increasing the number of men on ED medications substantially.
Dr. Dennis Lin of the psychosexual medicine program at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York is quoted as saying, “Most likely, the logical, the ethical thing to do is prescribe the generic. It’s cheaper, especially if the patient is paying out-of-pocket.”
Edwards points out that prices for sildenafil citrate (Viagra’s active ingredient) could drop as much as 80 percent, and generic drug manufacturers may begin legal procedures to bring their products to market before March of 2012. Currently, Viagra sales are $1.9 billion per year, and everyone wants a slice ASAP.
Don’t count Pfizer out in terms of finding a replacement that will continue to generate a good portion of the revenue generated by Viagra since the FDA approved it in 1998. There are other options such as Viagra lending its specific sildenafil recipe to other companies, or trying to make a “knock-off” of its own product, thereby giving Pfizer a new monopoly on a similar, but new brand of ED medication(s).
Read the full Viagra patent expiration article by Jim Edwards in the AccessRx.com Research Center. A respected online pharmacy for more than 10 years, AccessRx.com has compiled an insightful library of health articles, research documents and even podcasts by Dr. Daniel Williams.
Based in Tempe, Arizona, AccessRx.com has served tens of thousands of online customers, and provides only genuine, FDA-approved products such as Cialis, Levitra and Viagra online. These medications are prescribed and filled by only U.S.-licensed doctors and pharmacists. A patient must provide detailed health and medical information for their prescription request to be considered.
