Pfizer Patent and Trademark on Viagra Will Soon Expire!

Sildenafil citrate is the substance we all like to know as Viagra, or the blue pill. It was originally developed to treat erectile dysfunction and works by inhibiting an enzyme that regulates the blood flow to the penis. It is not the only drug available for the treatment of erectile dysfunction but it is most certainly the most popular. Other drugs include Tadalafil and Vardenafil which also go by the names of Cialis and Levitra respectively. These are far less commonly used than Viagra.

Viagra was developed and currently sold by the Pharmaceutical firm Pfizer. It was developed by a group of chemists working in Kent on behalf of Pfizer. The original intention was to create a drug for use in the treatment of conditions involving high blood pressure. There was a slight turn up for the books upon testing the drug when it was noticed that the drug caused male testers to experience erections. As a consequence, Pfizer decided to market the drug for erectile dysfunction and not angina, as previously intended. The drug itself uses PDE5 inhibitors which open the blood vessels.

There have been other reported uses of the drug such as in sportsmen to widen blood vessels but this has never been fully tested. The drug also has an affect upon altitude sickness and pulmonary hypertension. There are other uses including jet lag; although these often use herbal replacements of Viagra. Some side effects have been reported including blurred vision and headaches. More serious complications are rare but hearing loss is amongst these as well as heart attacks.

The Patent for the drug was granted in 1996 and it was approved for use in the United States of America, two years later, in 1998. The Drug was a huge success and the sales rose steeply during the turn of the millennium. This occurred to such an extent that sales surpassed the $1 billion mark per annum. The drug is now a huge commercial success, even tough it is only available from a doctor on prescription.

There are also drugs of a similar nature called herbal Viagra which are in fact simply aphrodisiacs. The Drug is now more well known than any other around the world and often goes by the name of Vitamin V or The Blue Pill.

Sales of Viagra made up a staggering 92% of the erectile dysfunction drug market but this soon fell to a far more modest 50% in 2007 due to many reasons, the most significant of these being the introduction of two other drugs (Levitra and Cialis), as well as the many fakes available. Also in 2007, The pharmacist chain Boots announced it would sell the drug over the counter. This is only available to men between 30 and 65; four pills can be purchased in this way after a consultation.

The Patent for the use of PDE5 inhibition as a treatment for erectile dysfunction was rendered invalid in the year 2000 as it was considered an obvious solution. Under this section of Patent law, a solution has to be innovative and not simply an obvious solution to the problem. This decision was subject to a failed appeal. The patent for Viagra is due to expire in 2012 which is going to cause a number of consequences to shoot through the market.

The number of generic Viagra drugs will shoot up and the price is likely to fall given the competition that will be introduced. The huge number of herbal Viagra pills may be set to fall as wider use of the actual drug Sildenafil citrate takes hold. The overall quality of the drug will undoubtedly improve as drug firms will no longer have a need to manufacture less effective substitutes and the price will fall given the extra supply. This is generally great news and means that better Viagra will become available for less.