The Hindu Business Line : It’s fake, it’s also grey and it’s Viagra

Mumbai, Dec. 10 It is blue and diamond-shaped, but it is not Pfizer’s erectile dysfunction drug Viagra. Two years after the drug was officially launched in India, Pfizer is concerned about fake Viagras in the local market, some of them even coming in through international channels.

International rackets selling fake Viagra, reportedly sourced from China, Pakistan and India, have in the past been busted in different countries.

But raids conducted by authorities in metros and mini-metros have revealed that the Indian market too is seeing counterfeits flowing in from neighbouring countries. This is in addition to fakes being produced locally, an industry representative familiar with the development told Business Line.

Not too long ago, police in Mumbai had uncovered counterfeit Viagra reportedly shipped from China. Earlier this year, police in China too had seized fake tablets. Authorities in Malaysia have also reportedly seized the fake tablets coming in from a neighbouring country. There is also the grey channel in India that sells the drug illegally at lower prices, besides selling counterfeit tablets, the representative said.

The ED market is estimated at Rs 123 crore. “Viagra sales have been satisfactory; however, we believe the product could grow faster if patients were more careful about purchasing the original drug,” a Pfizer spokesperson said, without giving details of the impact counterfeits were having on the original.

Pfizer points out that the original Viagra is sold in a single tablet strip only and has a distinctive hologram on the pack. “A customer can be assured that any other packaging, such strips of 4 or bottles with Viagra in it, is counterfeit medication and that it can have serious health implications,” the spokesperson said. The drug is sold only against a doctor’s prescription and, as is the case with any medicine, the consumer should insist on a bill after purchase, the spokesperson added.

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