Pfizer Sells 1.8 Mln Viagra Pills in 1st Month on Japan Market
Tokyo, April 30 (Bloomberg) -- Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Japanese unit of Pfizer Inc., said it sold 1.8 million Viagra tablets in its first month in Japan.
The anti-impotence tablets debuted in Japan March 23 and are available in Japan in two dosages, with each 25-milligram tablet carrying a suggested retail price of 1,100 yen ($9.19), while the price for a 50mg tablet is 1,300 yen. The drug isn't covered under national health insurance.
About 20 percent, or 21,000, of Japan's medical institutions bought the drug in the month to April 22, the company said. About 43 percent of urology departments in hospitals with less than 100 beds is using Viagra, the company said, citing its own survey.
Viagra generated $981 million in worldwide sales in the year to March 31.
As of March 31, Viagra was approved in 77 countries and sold in 62 countries. In the U.S. more than 9 million Viagra prescriptions have been written for more than 4 million patients since Pfizer introduced the drug last April, the company said.
Shares in Pfizer fell 2 1/16 to 115 15/16 yesterday. |
