Tokyo, Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese police arrested a 38-
year old man from Osaka prefecture for allegedly selling the
Viagra impotence drug, the first arrest for suspected illegal
sales of the pills, the Daily Yomiuri reported. The man, Hiroyuki
Shikata, allegedly sold 30 pills to a 31-year old man for 100,000
yen ($695) early last month and is also under suspicion of
placing an advertisement in a monthly magazine under a fictitious
company's name and selling the drugs to individuals for between
90,000 yen and 130,000 yen a bottle. While the drug, made by New
York-based Pfizer Inc., hasn't received the approval of Japan's
Health and Welfare Ministry, individuals can bring in the drug
from abroad for personal use, the paper said. The drug saw unprecedented sales of more than $400 million in its first three months on the market and has been linked to the death of 39 men, many of whom were taking heart drugs that are known to have dangerous interactions with Viagra.
(The Daily Yomiuri, 8/21, p2 www.yomiuri.co.jp)
quote.bloomberg.com |
