Room for growth: Viagra patent ends
There can be few drugs in recent decades which have become so embedded in popular consciousness as Viagra.
The diamond-shaped blue pill revolutionised treatment for erectile dysfunction.
Its launch 15 years ago caused a sensation - for a time it was the fastest-selling drug in US history.
One of my colleagues wrote that some doctors were complaining of cramp after writing out so many prescriptions.
And as for the jokes - from the witty to the puerile - Viagra was the drug that kept on giving.
But from midnight on Friday the drug came off-patent. That means Pfizer will face tough - I hesitate to write stiff - opposition from rival firms who will be able to sell a generic version under its chemical name sildenafil citrate.
It will mean the price falling from up to £10 a tablet to perhaps less than £1.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-22990247
(Don't forget the 'comments' section)
& the puns.................
There can be few drugs in recent decades which have become so embedded in popular consciousness as Viagra.
The diamond-shaped blue pill revolutionised treatment for erectile dysfunction.
Its launch 15 years ago caused a sensation - for a time it was the fastest-selling drug in US history.
One of my colleagues wrote that some doctors were complaining of cramp after writing out so many prescriptions.
And as for the jokes - from the witty to the puerile - Viagra was the drug that kept on giving.
But from midnight on Friday the drug came off-patent. That means Pfizer will face tough - I hesitate to write stiff - opposition from rival firms who will be able to sell a generic version under its chemical name sildenafil citrate.
It will mean the price falling from up to £10 a tablet to perhaps less than £1.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-22990247
(Don't forget the 'comments' section)
& the puns.................
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