{"id":10794,"date":"2016-09-06T13:32:19","date_gmt":"2016-09-06T13:32:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.viamedic.com\/blog\/?p=3006"},"modified":"2018-12-13T15:05:24","modified_gmt":"2018-12-13T15:05:24","slug":"could-north-koreas-version-of-viagra-be-legit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.edrugstore.com\/blog\/erectile-dysfunction\/viagra\/could-north-koreas-version-of-viagra-be-legit\/","title":{"rendered":"Could North Korea’s Version of Viagra Be Legit?"},"content":{"rendered":"

N<\/span>orth Korea’s purportedly “herbal” answer to Pfizer’s little blue pill turns out to contain a variant of sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra. However, don’t be tempted to try this alternative, as its other ingredients are unknown. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

North Korea has developed quite a reputation for making incredible claims about the country’s scientific and medical achievements. Among its more far-fetched claims was an announcement from Pyongyang a few years back that North Korean scientists had developed a miracle drug that could cure AIDS, Ebola, severe acute and Middle East respiratory syndromes, and even cancer.<\/p>\n

While skeptics in the outside world eagerly await proof of this wonder drug, claims for another of the Hermit Kingdom’s pharmaceutical innovations have recently been found — surprisingly — to have almost a grain (equal to about 65 milligrams) of truth to them. In fact, Western tests show that Neo-Viagra, North Korea’s answer to Pfizer’s little blue pill, contains roughly 50 milligrams of sildenafil, the active ingredient in the Pfizer drug. Very surprising indeed for a drug the North Koreans claim is an “herbal” equivalent of the erectile dysfunction drug. It’s also interesting that the sildenafil content of Neo-Viagra was determined to be 50 milligrams, which just happens to be the recommended starting dose for men using Viagra.<\/p>\n

Post Reporter Buys Neo-Viagra<\/h3>\n

This discovery was announced by the Washington P<\/em>ost<\/a> in an August 2016 article written by Anna Fifield, the Post’s bureau chief in Tokyo. It turns out that a Post<\/em> reporter purchased a package of the North Korean “herbal remedy” during a visit to that country’s capital in May 2016. The contents of the package looked nothing like Pfizer’s iconic diamond-shaped blue pill but consisted instead of three vials of brown granules that resembled many other North Korean herbal remedies.<\/p>\n

Curious to learn more about the drug’s chemical makeup, the Post<\/em> sent off a vial of Neo-Viagra to be tested at a Massachusetts laboratory operated by Pfizer, the company that started a revolution in impotence treatment when it introduced Viagra in 1998. In a statement accompanying the lab’s findings, Yasar Yaman, Asia-Pacific director for Pfizer’s global security team, noted that analysis “did detect the presence of sildenafil.”<\/p>\n

Not the Same Formulation<\/h3>\n

However, Yaman was quick to add that although sildenafil is the active ingredient in Viagra, what they found in Neo-Viagra was “a different formulation to the sildenafil found in authentic Pfizer tablets.” Pfizer’s representative was unable to tell the Post<\/em> whether the sildenafil in Neo-Viagra would produce the same results as Viagra because such a finding could not be established without conducting a clinical trial. Fifield’s article went on to say that the reporter who originally bought the Neo-Viagra was unsuccessful in finding any male acquaintance willing to try the drug for the sake of science.<\/p>\n

\"Viagra\"
North Korea’s Neo-Viagra looks nothing at all like Pfizer’s iconic little blue pill.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/i>Interestingly, the North Koreans’ claims for Neo-Viagra are far broader than those Pfizer makes for its little blue pill. In addition to fighting erectile dysfunction, Neo-Viagra is said to relieve back, knee, and shoulder pain. Based on its advertising claims, Neo-Viagra is also useful in firing up sexual desire in women, reversing paralysis, and alleviating “kidney malfunction, sciatic neuralgia, high blood pressure, and brain artery hardening.” Because sildenafil does lower overall blood pressure by temporarily optimizing blood flow to the penis, the high blood pressure claim is somewhat believable, although like its effect on the erectile process, any lowering of blood pressure would be temporary, on the order of four to six hours perhaps.<\/p>\n

Pfizer Is Reviewing Its Options<\/strong><\/h3>\n

After completing its analysis of Neo-Viagra and finding that it contained some form of sildenafil, Pfizer told the Post<\/em> that it was considering legal action against Neo-Viagra’s manufacturers for patent or copyright infringement. The so-called herbal remedy is manufactured by Korea Oriental Instant Medicinal Center, a state-owned enterprise. Pfizer’s Yaman did say that marketing the drug as an herbal remedy even though it contains sildenafil “poses a threat to patient health and safety.”<\/p>\n

Neo-Viagra is already available throughout North Korea and in surrounding areas, including China and Russia. Its packaging materials claim that the drug, which comes in a box containing three single-dose vials, can “immediately revive sexual ability (15 to 30 minutes)” for both men and women. An information sheet inside the box claims that Neo-Viagra “has been officially recognized in many countries for its excellent effect in immediately increasing stamina, and it is believed to be better than American sildenafil (Viagra).”<\/p>\n

Don’t Underestimate North Korea<\/h3>\n

Given some of the outlandish boasts that have come out of North Korea in recent years, there could be a strong temptation to dismiss any and all such claims as baseless. However, Lee Hye-kyung, who once worked as a pharmacist at a North Korean hospital, told the Post<\/em> that it would be a mistake to underestimate North Korea. “The only real difference between pharmacists in North and South Korea is infrastructure — in the North they don’t have electricity or raw ingredients, but their technical skills are good,” said Lee, who is now licensed to practice as a pharmacist in South Korea.<\/p>\n

\"Viagra\"
Although radically different in appearance, both Viagra and Neo-Viagra contain forms of sildenafil as their primary ingredient.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/i>The packaging materials for Neo-Viagra claim that the product, advertised in North Korea as “sangyaek” or “herbal medicine,” has no side effects at all. Thanks to the Post<\/em>‘s initiative in commissioning a laboratory analysis of the drug, it’s now known that it contains some form of sildenafil. And although generally mild and short-lived, side effects from the sildenafil in Pfizer’s Viagra are not at all uncommon. These include back and muscle pain, blurred vision, dizziness, flushing, headache, nausea, runny or stuffy nose, and upset stomach. More serious side effects are rare, but they do occur. These include a sudden diminution or loss of hearing or vision and an erection that lasts for four hours or more. Anyone who experiences these serious side effects should seek immediate medical treatment.<\/p>\n

Incompatible with Nitrates<\/h3>\n

As Viagra’s packaging materials make clear, the drug is incompatible with nitrate-based drugs. Nitrates are found in the nitroglycerin medications used to treat angina and even in the recreational drugs known as poppers. Since both sildenafil and nitrates lower blood pressure, taking the two together can cause such a sharp drop in blood pressure as to be life-threatening. The North Korean version of Viagra carries no such warnings and, in fact, claims to be free of any side effects or significant drug interactions.<\/p>\n

Americans or other Westerners who may come upon a package of Neo-Viagra in their travels would be well advised to keep the product only as a souvenir and reject any temptation to actually try it, because it’s not been tested for safety. Needless to say, North Korean drug manufacturing facilities are not subject to the stringent inspection protocols common in the West, which generally ensure that drugs produced there are free from contamination. And while laboratory tests conducted here in the United States confirmed the presence of a form of sildenafil in Neo-Viagra, it’s unclear what other ingredients might be present in the drug.<\/p>\n

If you are experiencing the symptoms of erectile dysfunction and are considering trying Pfizer’s Viagra or one of the other popular ED medications available in this country, visit eDrugstore.com to review its Erectile Dysfunction page<\/a>. In business since the late 1990s, Arizona-based eDrugstore stocks a full range of ED medications, including both brand-name and generic products. If you have a doctor’s prescription for one of these drugs, you can fax it or scan and email it along with your order. Alternatively, eDrugstore can set up a complimentary online consultation with a licensed U.S. physician who can authorize a prescription if appropriate.<\/p>\n

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North Korea’s purportedly “herbal” answer to Pfizer’s little blue pill turns out to contain a variant of sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra. However, don’t be tempted to try this alternative, as its other ingredients are unknown. North Korea has developed quite a reputation for making incredible claims about the country’s scientific and medical achievements. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25636,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_autoblog_aioseo_focus_keyphrase":"","_autoblog_aioseo_title":"","_autoblog_aioseo_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[184],"class_list":["post-10794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-viagra","tag-viagra"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t