Beginning Monday, Pfizer’s Viagra will face much more competition. The Pfizer brand name for sildenafil, the drug for erectile dysfunction, first hit the market during 1998 and become a bestseller, as in more than $1.5 billion in revenue for 2016.
However, the patent for Viagra will expire in April of 2020, which will undoubtedly allow for any number of less expensive generic versions.
However, a report by CBS News, said a deal that was negotiated in 2013, allows Teva Pharmaceuticals USA to start selling their generic version within the U.S. beginning December 11, 2017.
The milestone could make the impact of sildenafil even bigger. In many ways, Viagra has changed society. Prior to the arrival of Viagra, hearing about ED on television was not common, but things changed with the FDA approval to allow advertising direct to consumer in 1997.
ED quickly went from being rarely mentioned to something that is almost impossible to miss when watching television, especially for 4 hours or more.
On one hand, more awareness and availability of options has helped 18 million males in the U.S. over 20 who suffer ED.
It also might have made life easier to talk about sexual health problems in general. Viagra could make a huge difference to someone who does not have any other options to address a problem with ED.
However, Viagra’s introduction and the marketing associated with it, has created side effects. Those side effects are not the usual headaches, runny nose, muscle pain or diarrhea.
One issue has become medical student syndrome. While in med school, many students in the first year go through a period in which they convince themselves they have the disease they currently are studying.
Hearing about the same problem on a frequent basis enough can make someone believe they have the same problem.
Another side effect is displacing possible treatments for their ED problem, especially those that are focused upon changes in lifestyle.
Eating healthy diet, physical exercise, decreasing stress and practicing enough relaxation techniques can often help ED.
Of course, taking a pill is much easier as well as quicker than other methods but might not be the best solution over the long term.
