When Viagra burst on to the scene several years ago, people didn’t quite know what to make of it. A new drug was claiming to help men with a taboo subject, but through constant advertising there are few that don’t know what Viagra is.
“Viagra has received more media attention and entered the pop culture to an extent greater than any other drug,” Pfizer attorney Daniel P. DiNapoli said. “Part of the reason for that, no doubt, is the subject matter to which Viagra relates – sex. But there were ED treatments before Viagra, and none of those received anywhere near the attention that Viagra has received.
Now the hot seller, which brings in about a billion dollars worth of sales of Pfizer, is tangled up in a court battle. Pfizer has two patents; one that was approved for heart problems and another that was approved for treating erectile dysfunction, or ED. One of the patents is set to expire in 2012. When a patent expires typically other companies come in and sell a similar drug much cheaper, but Pfizer is fighting to stop that.
Teva Pharmaceuticals is trying to get the ball rolling to sell a generic form of Viagra, which has landed the company in court battling against Pfizer.
The maker’s of Viagra said, “We believe our patent is valid and infringed, and are enforcing our rights under the patent.” They would like to see their patent upheld until 2019. Their statement went on to say, “What distances Viagra from these other ED treatments was that Viagra was an effective oral treatment for erectile dysfunction, an ED pill. Pfizer’s success with Viagra was the end result of a long research and development project.”
Teva Pharmaceuticals declined to comment. Lawyers say these kinds of lawsuits can take months to settle.
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