Cheap blue pill: Viagra anti-impotence tablets have become a whole lot cheaper, thanks to the expiration of Pfizer’s patent on the drug.
The little blue pill that changed many people’s lives is about to enter a rapid new growth phase, with the price of Viagra falling to less than a cup of coffee.
When Pfizer’s patent for Viagra ran out in mid-May, the company offered pharmacies huge reductions on their product, hoping to carve out some of the new cheap market before generic brands took over. The huge discount brand, Chemist Warehouse was the first to react, offering Viagra at $15 for 4 of the 100 gm dose – the active ingredient is called Sildenafil. The same packet had been selling for $65-$85.
Other big chains are following suit, with companies such as Blooms and Terry White now offering a generic version (APO-Sildenafil) at $14 for four 100 mg pills. How the big price drop will affect Viagra’s main competitor, the Eli Lilly drug Cialis is still unclear. Cialis hit the Australian market five years after Viagra’s launch in 1998 but quickly caught up due to its promise of action for “le weekend” – up to 36 hours’ erection boost, unlike Viagra which lasts only a few hours.
‘‘The high price has always been a stumbling block preventing many men from being able to afford to use the drug regularly,’’ says Sydney-based erectile dysfunction specialist Chris McMahon. Even in cases where the erection problem is associated with diseases such as diabetes or the result of prostate cancer treatment, most men in Australia receive no financial compensation, with very few private health funds paying for such treatments.