After years of wrangling over Pfizer's ($PFE) patent on Viagra, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries ($TEVA) has made a deal. Under an agreement with Pfizer, the Israeli generics giant can launch its version of the blockbuster pill on Dec. 11, 2017, more than two years before its final patent protection expires.
Teva will have to pay
royalties to Pfizer until that April 2020 expiration date, but it's still a big
boost for the generics maker. And Teva can certainly use one these days, with
the surprise shortening of Copaxone's patent life and the palace intrigue that
recently ended with CEO Jeremy Levin's sudden departure. Viagra (sildenafil
citrate) is one of the best-selling and best-known drugs ever, the "little
blue pill" that revolutionized aging for the baby boomer male, with some
$2 billion in 2012 sales.
For Pfizer, it's the end of
a long patent dispute--one that it actually won in federal court in 2011, when
that 2019 patent gained legal confirmation. Teva quickly appealed, leading to
this final settlement.
Since then, Pfizer has lost
Viagra exclusivity in Europe, where as many as 20 generics makers quickly
rolled out cheaper versions of the drug--and quickly took an 11% bite out of
quarterly sales. Generic versions in Korea, including one made by Hanmi
Pharmaceutical, grabbed 45% of the market there.
Meanwhile, Pfizer has
pursued a variety of formulation and marketing strategies to keep its Viagra
franchise going. It rolled out a new, chewable version in Mexico, for instance,
and it was working on an over-the-counter version. And the company has struck
back at counterfeiters worldwide by launching a website to sell directly to
patients--just as some online pharmacies hawk their fake versions.