Viagra Gets Speedy Approval in Japan
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Pfizer Pill Could Be Highly Popular in Country With Aging Population
By Yumiko Ono
01/26/99
The Asian Wall Street Journal
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TOKYO -- Pfizer Inc. received an unusually speedy approval to sell its Viagra in Japan, opening up another potentially lucrative market for the popular but controversial anti-impotence drug.
Japan's Ministry of Health and Welfare said Monday it had approved Viagra for sale in Japan. The U.S. drug giant's Japanese unit, which expects to start selling Viagra in a month or two, wouldn't say how much sales it expects from the drug in Japan.
But Toshihide Yoda, an analyst at ING Baring Securities Ltd., said he expected Viagra 's sales here to exceed 10 billion yen, or about $90 million, in the first year. That would make it one of the nation's biggest-selling drugs.
Pfizer said there are an estimated six million to seven million men in Japan suffering from erectile dysfunction, compared with about 30 million men in the U.S.
Although Viagra is already sold in about 40 countries around the world, Japan could be a particularly lucrative market for Pfizer because of the increasing number of aging baby boomers, and their eagerness to obtain even folk remedies in hopes of boosting their sexual vitality. Everything from viper-essence drinks to organs of endangered animals are easily bought here. And while the health ministry was mulling Viagra 's approval, some men were already snaring the drug by importing it through middlemen.
Analysts noted that Viagra 's approval, which came just six months after Pfizer's application, was unusually quick, perhaps because of concerns over unregulated imports of the drug. Indeed, Viagra could be dangerous for people taking other drugs for heart conditions. One man is reported to have died here last year after taking Viagra .
A health-ministry official said most drugs have needed about a year and half to get approval. But he stressed that the speedy approval was unrelated to the imports.
It is still uncertain how pricey Viagra will be in Japan. A Pfizer spokesman in Tokyo said the company has asked the government to have Viagra covered by health insurance, but hasn't yet received an answer. In the U.S., where Viagra costs about $8 to $10 a pill, some managed-care companies are starting to clamp down on reimbursement.
It is important for Pfizer to do well in new markets such as Japan because enthusiasm in the U.S. is already cooling and sales are becoming lackluster. In the fourth quarter, Viagra 's world-wide sales jumped to $236 million from $141 million in the third quarter, mostly because of strong sales in Europe, where the drug was recently approved.
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