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Pfizer wins Viagra protection in China

Pfizer Inc, the world's largest drugmaker, won the right to be the sole seller of its impotence drug Viagra in China, stopping a dozen Chinese companies from selling cheaper copies.

A Beijing court overturned a 2004 decision by China's patent review board that permitted the Chinese drugmakers to sell copies, Pfizer spokesman Paul Fitzhenry said in a telephone interview on Saturday. The ruling will benefit Pfizer because it may mean better patent protection for the 20 drugs it plans to start selling in China by 2010, Fitzhenry said.

"We see the decision as an encouraging development for all knowledge-based companies like Pfizer who want to bring innovative products to the Chinese market," Fitzhenry said.

Viagra is one of the world's most counterfeited drugs, according to the WHO. Viagra was used by 23 million men last year and had worldwide sales of US$1.6 billion last year.

About 8 percent to 10 percent of the world's medical supply consists of counterfeit products, according to US Food and Drug Administration Deputy Commissioner Scott Gottlieb in a March 3 posting on the agency's Web site.

The WHO estimates that about US$35 billion in counterfeit drugs are sold each year.

"The result is risks to patients' health," Gottlieb said in March. "Either risk to their safety directly if the products are dangerous, or risks from people suffering complications."
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