History Of Viagra

Developed and marketed by the pharmaceutical company - Pfizer, Viagra is regarded as the most popular brand of prescribed erectile dysfunction pills. It is informally known as the 'Blue Pill' and is generally taken by men, with erectile dysfunction, 30 minutes or one hour before sexual intercourse. According to the historical records, the tablet was primarily formulated to treat ailments like hypertension and later on, was adopted by the men having difficulties in penile erection. Read on to get some interesting information on the history, background and origin of Viagra.

A group of pharmaceutical chemists at Pfizer's Sandwich, a research facility in Kent (England), worked together to synthesize a compound named Sildenafil. The medicine was initially formulated to treat hypertension angina pectoris (a symptom of ischaemic heart disease) and chest pains caused from the inadequacy of the blood circulation to the heart. The drug was tried on men in Morriston Hospital (Swansea), in 1991 & 1992. The clinical trials were conducted under the supervision of Ian Osterloh, who suggested that the drug had very little effects on treating angina, but marked significant changes in the penile erections.

 

Following the clinical trial and the discovery that Sildenafil was good for those suffering from penile erection, Pfizer decided to commercialize the drug, as Viagra, as a remedy for erectile dysfunction. The medicine was then patented in 1996. On 27^th March 1998, US Food and Drug Administration approved Viagra's use for treating erectile dysfunction. With this, it became the first oral treatment approved for the use of men with erectile dysfunction, in the United States. Later that year, Viagra was put into sale in the country. It proved to be a huge success and recorded sales of over $1 billion capsules, from 1999 to 2001.

 

Not much time later, a full fledged marketing strategy was adapted to promote the use of Viagra (Sildenafil) for erectile dysfunction. Though it was a prescribed medicine till them, advertisements of the drug were telecast on US television. Some of the prominent figures of the United States, including Senator Bob Dole and soccer star Pelé, endorsed the product. Internet was also used to promote Viagra. Numerous websites were authorized to sell the drug, after an online consultation. With this, the options for people intending to buy Viagra had grown manifold.

 

Over the years that followed, a number of prescribed erectile dysfunction pills were introduced, out of which Viagra accounted for the maximum percentage of sales. In 2000, the drug swept a whopping 92 percent share of the global market sales of prescribed erectile dysfunction tablets. However, the sales of Viagra dropped drastically by 2007, due to the entry of its rival brands - Cialis and Levitra. Several other counterfeits and clones of Viagra also mushroomed in the market, which led to a drip in the sales of the original brand.

 

'Boots', UK's most popular chemist, announced the sales of over-the-counter Viagra tablets in February 2007, in the stores located in Manchester (England). After the announcement, men aged between 30 and 65 years were allowed to buy four over-the-counter tablets of Viagra, at a time. A simple consultation with a pharmacist was what was required by the consumers, to buy the pills. It is anticipated that Pfizer's worldwide patents on sildenafil will reach its expiration date in 2011-2013.