According to a Bloomberg report, Pfizer Inc has filed a lawsuit against Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd in the hopes of preempting the sale of a generic, more cheaper version of Viagra. In the lawsuit, Pfizer is claiming that the introduction of Torrent Pharma's generic Viagra, also known as sildenafil citrate before the expiration of the former's patent will definitely hurt Pfizer. The largest drugmaker has pioneered the drug meant to aid men with erectile dysfunction issues.
The complaint filed by Pfizer filed in a Manhattan federal court said that the Ahmedabad, India-based Torrent Pharma is currently seeking approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for their generic Viagra. The pharmaceutical company is seeking an injunction in the making, using, selling, marketing, distributing or importing of the drug by the India-based company, its officers, employees and agents on the basis that the drug has violated its patent. The news agency said that Pfizer's patent for he erectile-dysfunction drug will expire on October 22, five years from now.
This would be not the first time Pfizer has fended off companies who had allegedly infringed on their famous Viagra, which in 2013, had earned the company $1.88 billion or 3.6% of their total revenue. In December last year, the New York-based company had said that it was able to reach an agreement with Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc that will allow the Israeli drugmaker to market a generic version of the pharmaceutical company's Viagra in the US.
An article on Warc.com said that asides from patent infringement, Pfizer has been battling companies who had been making and distributing counterfeiting drugs like Viagra. Director/marketing Lauren Ljubicich at Pfizer told delegates at the ePharma Summit that imitations were a big headache. Referring to the troubling medical effects of the fake drugs, Ljubicich told the conference audience, "It doesn't just hurt us bottom line financially; it impacts our brand. It wasn't just a business opportunity; it was also really our responsibility to figure out this counterfeit situation. We built the category. We put Viagra out there."
