With Pfizer's patent on sildenafil set to expire in May, pharmaceutical companies in South Korea are falling all over themselves to release a generic version of Viagra. No less than 29 companies have applied, and so far three have gotten approval that their product is equivalent to the real deal. There's just one catch. Pfizer still has a patent on using sildenafil to treat erectile dysfunction - until May 2014. Pfizer is holding the line: "We cannot prevent other drug makers from manufacturing sildenafil, but they won't be able to use it for erectile dysfunction treatment," says a Pfizer Korea rep. Is that so?
Although the courts made an example out of Israeli pharma company Teva, their Korean counterparts seem unfazed: "We may have to release the generic on due date even if we may have to compensate Pfizer later," said a spokesman for CJ, a domestic drug company. Sounds like they're betting on some big profits.
On the other hand, maybe South Korea will suddenly have the highest rate of pulmonary hypertension (another condition treatable with Viagra) in the world.
