Erectile Dysfunction
Why Is Viagra Still So Expensive?
Question:
I’ve been using Viagra since the middle of 2016, and when generic versions of the drug came on the market in late 2017, I figured that brand-name Viagra’s price would come down. I was wrong. If anything, it seems to have gone up at least a little bit.
What gives?
Bill S., Slidell, LA
Answer:
Viagra and its generic competitors are a bit unique. Ordinarily, a generic version of a drug doesn’t come to market until the patent on the brand-name drug has expired. That’s not the case with Viagra. Pfizer’s U.S. patent on the drug won’t expire until April 2020.
However, Pfizer back in late 2013 negotiated an agreement with Teva, the world’s largest manufacturer of generic drugs, that would allow Teva to begin selling a generic formulation of Viagra in December 2017.
That agreement also stipulated that Teva would pay Pfizer a royalty for the privilege of marketing a Viagra generic until Pfizer’s patent runs out. Concurrent with Teva’s introduction of its generic Viagra, marketed as sildenafil citrate, Greenstone LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pfizer, also introduced a generic version of Viagra.
So Pfizer has got both the brand-name and generic sides of the market covered. Since there are always some consumers who prefer to stick with the brand-name drug regardless of its cost, Pfizer felt confident enough to hike its price for Viagra at the beginning of 2019. It remains to be seen what trend Viagra’s price will take once Pfizer’s U.S. patent on the drug expires on April 2020.