BANGKOK (Dow Jones)- Pfizer Inc. received approval from Thailand's Food and Drug Administration to import its impotence drug Viagra, agency officials said Tuesday.
Agency offcials said drug maker Pfizer (PFE) applied for FDA approval in February. Since then, a black market has developed for the drug, with a single pill selling for about $30. Thai media also reported last week that local counterfeiters are producing fake Viagra pills composed primarily of flour, and selling them for the same price as the real ones. According to the Associated Press, authorities have seized more than 150 fake tablets. The go-ahead to import Viagra should help diminish the black market, FDA officials said. Under FDA rules, Viagra won't be available in drug stores, but will be sold only in hospital pharmacies with a prescription from either a urologist, cardiologist, endocrinologist or psychiatrist. Sources said the pill will be priced at $10 each, matching the cost of the pill in the U.S.
Mongkol na Songkhla, secretary general of the FDA, estimated in June that there are about 100,000 Thais who qualify for prescriptions. He said the FDA will continue to monitor the drug after its approval because of questions about its safety.
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