Snag In Early End To Viagra Patent In Brazil

The date 20 June will mark the authorised end of Viagra’s patent in Brazil, following a 28 April decision of the Superior Court of Justice. Since the decision, five laboratories have requested registration for drugs that are generic versions of Viagra or similar to it, according to press reports. EMS, the largest generic pharmaceutical company in Brazil, was the first to receive it and announced it would produce Viagra generic on the first day after the end of the patent and pharmacies could sell it a week later. Meanwhile, given the impending loss of market share, Pfizer has decided to lower by 50 percent the price of Viagra in Brazil. It was reported that each tablet from Pfizer, which cost on average US$17.60, will now sell for US$8.80. In addition, the company decided to launch boxes with only one tablet, as a strategy to expand the market. Until now, boxes came with two, four or eight pills. The National Health Surveillance Agency (in Portuguese, Agência Nacional de Vigilância em Saúde – Anvisa) provides that the generic version must be at least 35 percent cheaper than the reference product. So now the generic laboratory will need to study the market again to analyse whether it is possible to further reduce the price. For background, see (IPW, Education/R&D/Innovation, 13 May 2010).

By Claudia Jurberg for Intellectual Property Watch