Viagra Proves It Has Lasting Market Power

Pfizer keeps a solid grip on the patent for Viagra through 2019.

Image: Mark Blinch/Reuters

Pfizer, which manufactures the hugely popular erectile dysfunction drug Viagra—which brings in approximately $1 billion in U.S. sales annually—will keep its patent through 2019, a federal court has ruled.

The court decided that Teva Pharmaceutical Industries’ proposed generic version of the medicaton would infringe on Pfizer's patent for the original, and that the patent is valid and enforceable, the Boston-based pharmaceutical firm announced this morning. The ruling came on Friday from U.S. Judge Rebecca Beach Smith in federal court in Norfolk, Virginia.

The court's decision, which is subject to appeal, prevents Teva from receiving approval for a generic form of Viagra for the next eight years. Litigation on the same patent remains pending against other companies which also produce generic versions of Viagra, but no trials are scheduled in those other cases, reports the Wall Street Journal.

In a statement, Amy Schulman, executive vice president and general counsel for Pfizer applauded the court’s decision to protect Pfizer’s “intellectual property rights,” and said that the"court decision acknowledges Teva's clear violation of our patent rights."

The 2019 patent covers the use of Viagra's active ingredient, sildenafil, to treat erectile dysfunction. An earlier patent, covering the basic compound, is set to expire next year.

Now that generic Viagra has had some of the wind knocked out of its sales, perhaps Pfizer's rivals can concentrate on the quest to come up with an acceptable version of what has been dubbed female Viagra (various drug companies, including Pfizer, have tried and failed to do so.)

According to a report in Bloomberg last month, the buzz in the race to create such a drug is currently led by BioSante Pharmaceuticals, which aims to seek U.S. regulatory approval next year for a testosterone gel for women called LibiGel.

Marketers have an uphill battle ahead of them to come up with a sexy name to sell the female version of the product. They have to keep in mind that any word play on Viagra for Women will likely get them dragged right into court.

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