02/12 15:10 Pfizer studies action against Chinese "Viagra"
WASHINGTON, Feb 12 (Reuters) - The makers of Viagra, the
best-selling impotence drug, said on Friday they were checking to
see whether a Chinese herbal drug that uses the same name is
violating their trademark.
Pfizer <PFE.N> spokesman Andy McCormick said it was clear the
Chinese herb wais not the same product as Viagra, but the company
was checking its legal options.
The privately run herbal drug firm Shenyang Pharon Pharmaceutical
Co. Ltd. in northeastern Shenyang city launched its drug "Weige
Kaitai" -- the same name in Chinese as Viagra -- this week.
"We think that maybe this is a trademark infringement of the actual
name. We are going to look at that," McCormick said in a telephone
interview.
McCormick said Pfizer was conducting safety and efficacy trials of
Viagra in China. "We will be filing with the authorities later this year,"
he said.
McCormick said it was important to point out that Viagra, known
generically as sildenafil, is a tried and tested drug, while the Chinese
product is an herbal medicine. "Our efficacy and safety are
well-known and well documented," he said.
He said 54 countries have now approved Viagra, which was launched
last April. It is available in 40, and seven million prescriptions
worldwide have been written for the drug.
Viagra is popularly known in China and Hong Kong as "Weige". In
Taiwan, Viagra is registered under the Chinese name "Wei Er
Gang", literally meaning "fierce and strong".
A packet of eight capsules of Weige Kaitai sells for 95 yuan ($11),
while the diamond-shaped blue pill manufactured by Pfizer fetches
$48 per capsule on the Chinese black market.
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