08/23 07:56 Euro drug regulators to meet on Viagra approval
LONDON, Aug 23 (Reuters) - European drug regulators are set to meet on Monday afternoon to discuss approval of Viagra, the blockbuster anti-impotence drug from U.S. pharmaceuticals group Pfizer Inc, the company said on Sunday.
Pfizer told Reuters that the meeting was "the last major hurdle" blocking Viagra's sale in Europe and that if the meeting went well, with no serious obstacles raised, European regulators could move to license the drug for sale in Europe within weeks.
The meeting of the European Medicines Evaluation Agency, responsible for clearing new drugs, is due to be held on Monday afternoon and will be attended by government and industry officials from all European Union member states, a spokesman for Pfizer told Reuters.
"It is no secret that the EMEA committee is meeting to review drug application, " said the Pfizer spokesman.
"But this will not be a rubber-stamping job. It is a highly important meeting and the final major hurdle. If the outcome is positive, then they should be able to issue a Europe-wide license to Viagra within a number of weeks."
Viagra has already witnessed a sales bonanza in the U.S., moving quickly to recoup its 350 million pounds development costs.
After its launch there, Viagra became the fastest selling drug in history, with U.S. doctors issuing 3.5 million prescriptions for Viagra since its U.S. approval in March.
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