 |
 |
 |
 |
| Search |  |
 |
 |
pfizer egypt asserts rights, courts doctors launched in the us market five years ago and legalized in egypt in 1999, viagra has become one of the most recognized brand names in the market. but for many egyptians, the price of the renowned male-impotence drug is too steep. with many patients seeking – and finding – cheaper fixes, the drug’s licensed manufacturer, pfizer egypt, is pushing for protection of its exclusive manufacturing rights. counterfeit versions of viagra are undercutting sales of the authentic version by more than 75 percent, according to pfizer egypt officials. pfizer egypt manager ahmed el hakim said that while pfizer had hoped for annual sales of £e 50 million in egypt, monthly profits now hang limply at around £e 1 million. counterfeit tablets, he said, had swallowed up the missing market share. pfizer egypt had counted on a monopoly over impotence medications, as its global pharmaceutical mother company pfizer inc. holds the patent for viagra, the first such drug to be approved in the market. last summer, however, the health ministry announced that 12 local companies were gearing up to produce generic versions – a factor that would reduce the retail price per pill from around £e 27 to less than £e 10. pfizer egypt maintained that it had exclusive rights over production and sale of the drug, and that other manufacturers would be breaking international agreements (as well as a new egyptian law) protecting intellectual property rights. while pfizer may be right from a legal standpoint, recent statements from the company tend to blur the distinction between “counterfeits” and “generics.” whereas generic versions of viagra contain the same active compound – sildenafil – as the pfizer version, counterfeit types frequently contain little or no sildenafil. and while generic brands like the indian-made vega have a roughly similar look to viagra, outright counterfeits thoroughly mimic pfizer’s famous blue, diamond-shaped tablet. according to el hakim, counterfeits traced to producers in china and india are smuggled into egypt on a vast scale. since they are not subject to safety and quality standards, these “fake” pharmaceuticals can endanger the health of patients who use them, he said. police recently seized some 35,000 packages of counterfeit viagra in cairo’s working-class district of dar al salam, el hakim said. meanwhile, a coalition of government and health officials – including the ministry of interior, the ministry of health & population, anti-counterfeiting experts and medical professionals – is trying to increase public awareness of the potentially serious health issues involved with counterfeit drugs. mishaps with fake viagra could also harm pfizer. the company is backing the national anti-counterfeit campaign in order to “ensure the safety of patients and protect our own international reputation,” el hakim said. the us food & drug administration (fda) approved viagra for public distribution in 1998. since then, the agency has continued to monitor the drug for negative side effects. in accordance with fda regulations, viagra packages in the united states advise the drug could be linked to “several heart-related side effects.” at the annual conference of the egyptian urological association (eua) in october, dr. murray maytoum, a scientist from “pfizer worldwide team,” presented extensive – and independently gathered – clinical evidence about the safety of viagra, even for patients with heart conditions. prominent international urologists also insisted that viagra was absolutely safe. ongoing monitoring by the fda, however, helps to keep
pharmaceutical companies honest. “this is what assures the
public of the product’s safety,” said dr. hanafy m. hanafy,
the director of a male-health clinic in harrisburg, pennsylvania,
and a frequent speaker at pfizer-sponsored discussions. the eua conference, a spectacular five-day affair in luxor, attracted more than 700 urologists from egypt and nearly 200 from other countries. most of these doctors had their expenses paid by pfizer egypt, which was the event’s main sponsor. the conference dealt with a wide range of urology-related issues. eua president dr. ismail khalaf said that large-scale gatherings of the medical profession all over the world “depend on funding from major pharmaceutical companies.” khalaf said there was no conflict between corporate sponsorship and scientific integrity. according to dr. mostafa elhilali, an internationally recognized urologist based in canada, conflicts of interest are possible, especially with sponsorship of doctors’ research projects. but this risk can be offset by strict rules about transparency. “in north america and europe, doctors presenting research papers are required to clearly state all the sources of their funding,” said elhilali, who heads the mcgill university urology clinic. he agreed, however, that advanced medical research would be impossible without support from companies. lobna ibrahim |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Site Developed and Maintained by the Business Information Center of AmCham Egypt Copyright©2008 American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt |
|||
 |
|||