Soon NPH Viagra will likely be sold in USA...Why can’t you buy generic Viagra in the United States? This has been a hot-topic for a few years now. The generic version of Viagra is available in Canada. Why not in the States? To start, Viagra (chemical name, sildenafil citrate) is used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) or impotence, and was approved by the FDA in 1998. The drug was originally created by Pfizer to treat high blood pressure and angina, but was found to have little effect on either condition. While sildenafil citrate didn’t lower blood pressure, it did cause men to have erections within 30 to 60 minutes of taking it. Pfizer realized that this was a very good thing, and began to offer the oral medication under the name Viagra. Within a year’s time, Viagra was a near billion-dollar business.
It’s been almost 17 years since the Viagra hit the market. Now, at about $15 USD per pill, it’s no wonder people are looking for a more cost-effective alternative. What’s the hold-up?
In a nutshell, ahem, Pfizer, as well as many other pharmaceutical giants, have an extremely difficult time with generic offerings. As soon as the generic versions are released, these very large companies take a huge cut in profit. So they attempt to ensure their patents are well-protected. Pfizer’s patent on Viagra lasts until 2020.
Well, it seems the wait is almost over. In 2013, Pfizer finally reached an undisclosed agreement with Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, a division of Teva Industries, Inc., which is an Israel-based pharmaceutical company, and the world’s largest. Teva will begin to produce generic Viagra as early as 2017, which is three years before the patent expiry date.
Okay. So now, you’re probably wondering why the generic version of Viagra is available in Canada if the patents are on such serious lockdown? Well, it would seem that in Canada, Pfizer may have gotten a bit too clandestine with the drug’s ingredients, and failed to mention sildenafil citrate as the compound required to produce Viagra. In other words, they got the patent in Canada…but didn’t exactly reveal what they were patenting. So in 2012, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the patent should be revoked, because it seemed that Pfizer tried to “game” the system. Without a patent to protect the product, Teva Canada was able to produce generic Viagra in Canada after Pfizer’s patent expired in 2014.