If you’re a fan of the little blue pill that’s been aiding men in the bedroom since ‘98, there’s reason to be excited (and not in the way fumes from a Viagra factory may be affecting local residents).
Next week, Pfizer will begin selling a generic white pill for half the $65-a-pill retail price of its blue Viagras. The drug company is making the move to help it retain its market share when it starts facing stiffer competition upon the launch of Teva Pharmaceuticals’ own generic Viagra pill, which will also go on sale next week for an undisclosed price (and in an unknown color).
With Pfizer’s Viagra patent set to expire — there’s a legal agreement with Teva that allows it to release its generic before that happens — even generics will be hitting the market by next summer. Some analysts predict the $65 retail price could be cut by up to 90 percent.
To keep its customers loyal, Pfizer also plans to offer discounted pill programs through an online home-delivery service, Pfizer Direct, and offer insured patients slashed prices on copayments.
“Patients are paying fortunes,” Dr. Nachum Katlowitz of Staten Island University Hospital told the Associated Press. “When generic Viagra comes out, they will be very happy.”
And so will their partners.
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