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Pfizer’s Viagra price has risen slightly even in the face of generic competition. Learn how the drugmaker has managed to profit from both brand-name and generic versions of the popular erectile dysfunction drug.
Introduction
First introduced in 1998, the Viagra brand name has slowly but surely morphed into the term people use to describe all products of its kind. It is, in short, the Kleenex or Xerox of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
While the market for oral erectile dysfunction medications has expanded to include four other brand-name ED drugs and a handful of generics, Viagra is often used to describe all such products of its type. Of course, it was not only the first of its kind, but it remains to this day near the top of its game in terms of popularity among consumers.
Given these facts, it’s hardly surprising that Pfizer, which developed and successfully marketed the little blue pill, still maintains a disproportionate share of the ED drug market.
Viagra Bucks Price Trends
The arrival of generic competition on the market usually signals the start of a gradual decline in the price of the brand-name drug for which the generics are a substitute. This phenomenon has not occurred with Viagra. In fact, Pfizer early in 2019 raised its price for Viagra. And had it not been for jawboning by President Trump, Viagra’s price hike likely would have taken hold in mid-2018.
Viagra’s price increase comes just a little over a year after the first generic equivalents of the little blue pill went on sale in the United States. What gave Pfizer the confidence to hike its price in the face of this new competition? As it turns out, Pfizer continues to reap the financial rewards from Viagra on multiple fronts.
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Striking a Deal with Teva
Israeli-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., the world’s biggest generic drugmaker, had long been anxious to introduce a generic version of Viagra in the United States. However, its earliest efforts to do so landed it in a court battle with Pfizer, which fought fiercely to protect its U.S. patent.
Out of that litigation emerged a settlement in December 2013. Under its terms, the court recognized Pfizer’s U.S. patent on Viagra as valid until April 2020. However, under a licensing agreement, Pfizer agreed to allow Teva to introduce a generic version of Viagra beginning on December 11, 2017. For this privilege, of course, Teva would be obligated to pay Pfizer a royalty given that its Viagra patent was still in force.
So Pfizer established an income stream from Teva’s generic competitor that will keep on adding to Pfizer’s coffers until April of 2020.
Keeping It in the Family
Simultaneous with the introduction of Teva’s generic equivalent in late 2017, Greenstone LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pfizer, brought to market its own generic version of Viagra. Because Greenstone is part of the larger Pfizer corporate family, its earnings from sales of its generic equivalent of Viagra will also redound to the overall financial benefit of Pfizer.
Headquartered in North Peapack, New Jersey, less than 50 miles from Pfizer’s headquarters in Manhattan, Greenstone specializes in the manufacture and marketing of generic medications. It was founded in 1993.
Some Consumers Prefer Brand-Name Drugs
Despite the ready availability of generic equivalents to the brand-name drugs they’ve come to know and trust, some consumers somehow believe that the branded drug is still the best choice for them.
Even with the strict Food and Drug Administration regulations governing the manufacture of generic medications, these consumers would prefer to continue buying what seems to them to be “the real thing.” In many respects, this is not unlike the phenomenon many grocery shoppers experience when they feel drawn to the brand-name peanut butter over the store brand.
And for consumers who have plenty of cash at their disposal, paying a few extra bucks to buy a brand-name drug is no big deal. If they’ve got the money, why not buy what’s best, or at least what they perceive to be best.
FDA’s Regulations on Generics
It’s widely recognized that the FDA makes the manufacturers of new drugs undergo close scientific scrutiny of their medication’s effects — both positive and negative. Perhaps less understood are the stringent requirements the drug regulatory agency imposes on prospective generic drug manufacturers.
Because a generic drug is a copy of a medication that has already passed muster in earlier testing, the FDA considers generic drug candidates on the basis of abbreviated new drug applications (ANDA). Because the agency already has seen how the brand-name drug works, it insists that proposed generic equivalents contain the same active ingredient, come in the same dosage form (capsule, liquid, or tablet), have the same strength, and also the same route of administration (injectable, oral, or topical).
Generics also must be manufactured and packaged in facilities that comply with the same high standards of safety as those governing brand-name medications.
The FDA does not mandate that generics contain the same inactive ingredients as those used in the manufacture of the brand-name drugs they copy. Generally, inactive ingredients are used primarily as coloring agents and filler material. Individuals with a history of allergies should carefully review a new drug’s ingredients to ensure that none of those ingredients is likely to cause an allergic reaction.
Why Hike Viagra’s Price?
With income assured from both generic versions of Viagra, Pfizer apparently saw little downside to an increase it its price for the little blue pill, still a best-seller among those who prefer branded drugs over generics.
As previously noted, Pfizer first moved to hike the price of Viagra, along with the prices of dozens of its other best-selling drugs, in mid-2018, roughly six months after the arrival of generic Viagra on the market.
When President Trump intervened, pleading with Pfizer to postpone its price hikes, Pfizer agreed but only for a matter of six months or so. The Viagra price hike took effect in early 2019.
Ordering Your Drugs Online
Whether you opt for Viagra or its generic equivalent, you’ll probably find that you can save money and time by ordering it from longtime online facilitator eDrugstore.com. In business since the late 1990s, eDrugstore is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, and stocks not just Viagra and its generic equivalent, but also all brand-name ED drugs, as well as the generic versions of Cialis and Levitra. It also offers a limited selection of other lifestyle medications and products.
If you have a prescription for Viagra from your doctor, you can fax it or scan and email it along with your order to eDrugstore. If not, eDrugstore can set up a complimentary online consultation with a licensed U.S. physician who can authorize a prescription if appropriate. To learn more, visit eDrugstore’s Erectile Dysfunction page.
