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Two years after Pfizer Inc. (Pfizer) launched
its blockbuster drug Viagra in India, the world's largest
pharmaceutical company voiced its concern over the availability
of counterfeits of Viagra in the Indian market.
Unlike in the developed markets in the West, in India, Pfizer
also had to contend with tough competition from multiple
cost-based competitors for its popular and widely used drug to
treat erectile dysfunction1
(ED) in men.
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Pfizer launched Viagra in India on December 26, 2005,
almost seven years after the international launch of the drug in the US.
Pfizer was reluctant to launch Viagra in India earlier, fearing
competition from Indian companies producing generics in view of the
loose patent regime2
prevalent in the country at that time. As a result, since 2001, various
Indian pharmaceutical companies launched their own generic versions3
of the drug. By the time Pfizer launched Viagra in India, more than 40
local generic versions of the drug were available in the Indian market.
Pfizer launched Viagra in India at a price of Rs. 5944
for a single tablet (Rs. 463 for 50 mg). Most of the local versions of
the drug were available at Rs. 25 or less (for a 50 mg tablet). Some
industry experts felt that the timing of Pfizer's launch of Viagra in
India was late as many local versions of the drug were already
available.
Moreover, many doctors were of the opinion that ED patients did not get
any additional benefit out of Viagra when compared to local versions, to
justify its high price. However, despite its late entry and premium
pricing, Pfizer was confident of capturing 10–15 percent of the ED
market in India within the first one to two years of Viagra's launch.
India was considered a lucrative market for ED drugs with an estimated
70–90 million men suffering from this disorder.5
Within two months of its launch in India, Viagra seemed well on its way
to surpass its target for the year. Pfizer reported that Viagra had
already cornered a 1.8 percent of the ED market in India. This was
despite the marketing dynamics of the Indian pharmaceutical market being
very different from that in the US, where the brand was very successful.
Unlike in the US, in India Pfizer had to compete against multiple
cost-based local competitors and it could not promote Viagra through
direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising which was not permitted in India.
Nevertheless, the company was banking on market research data that
suggested that there was a demand for Viagra in India in the grey
market, and it hoped to convert that demand into sales of the original
product. Pfizer was importing the original Viagra from France for the
Indian market, and the package of Viagra bore a distinctive hologram.
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1] Erectile dysfunction is the inability to
develop and maintain an erection for satisfactory sexual intercourse or
activity. Erectile dysfunction is the preferred term rather than the more
commonly used term 'impotence'.
2] Before 2005, India only recognized process
patents, not product patents. As a result, Indian pharmaceutical companies were
free to manufacture and market any drug as long as the process of manufacturing
was different from that of the original drug.
3] Generic drugs (or generics) are either copies or
the basic form of a proprietary drug (or "brand-named" drug) produced by a large
multinational. For example, Viagra is the brand name owned and patented by
Pfizer. It contains the molecule Sildenafil citrate. Other drugs with the same
composition made by other companies are called generics.
4] As on March 28, 2006, US$1 was approximately equal
to Rs. 44.64.
5] "Pfizer Eyes 15 Percent of Indian Market with
Viagra," www.onlypunjab.com, December 22, 2005. |
