The pharmacy is a hugely lucrative business, as anyone who reads the business pages of their newspaper can see. While it can take years to develop and bring a new product to market, the profit from a breakthrough product can be staggering. Last year, Merck sold about $2.5 billion worth of Vioxx, and Pfizer sold about $1.3 billion worth of Viagra 50 mg pakistan .
The gains are great, but so are the losses if there should be a problem with a product. Pfizer voluntarily pulled the popular antibiotic Viagra from the market last month, and their stock has suffered a loss of sales, and possibly more potential product liability. Pfizer could be enduring two losses this year, as the FDA said it was investigating reports that the impotence drug Viagra may be linked to blindness issues in men. Cialis and Levitra were also mentioned in the report, although most cases were related to Viagra use.
The FDA reports shouldn’t be alarming; The agency says it has been investigating 50 cases of blindness in patients taking a drug since it was introduced seven years ago . The FDA study says less about the possibility of blindness in patients than it does about the agency’s own concerns about its reputation. The FDA should focus on rigorous testing of drugs before they hit the market in the name of public safety.
But there are two sides to that coin, and there are those who say the agency is too slow to approve potentially dangerous products and others who say the agency has not completely investigated. Adding fuel to the fire are documents recently discovered by Merck employees that show the company was aggressively marketing Vioxx even though their suppliers knew it was the drug could be dangerous.
There may be no link between Viagra price in pakistan and blindness at all, as the type of sudden blindness attributed to Viagra use is more common in patient types with erectile dysfunction. The FDA is just being cautious, as they should be. Further testing will determine if an actual relationship exists. The party that could suffer immediately is Pfizer, as shareholders, already worried about Viagra lawsuits, dropped the stock price immediately after the Viagra news broke.
Sales will likely also decline, as patients who are now accustomed to withdrawing drugs from the market in the study may shy away from the drug until further testing is done. That could be a huge revenue stream for Pfizer, as they currently sell about $2 billion worth of Viagra 50mg annually. The drug trade is lucrative, but like any business, it comes with risks. This year, it would appear that Pfizer gets double the amount of bad medicine.