Pfizer’s Viagra has been available since 1998. The active ingredient Sildenafil citrate, a PDE5 inhibitor, increases the blood flow to the penis to help men suffering from impotence (erectile dysfunction or ED). The increased blood flow results in an erection. Pfizer’s patent for Viagra expired in several European countries (including the UK) on 21 June 2013 allowing legal generic versions of the drug Sildenafil to be made available.
If you are reading this, you may have erectile dysfunction (ED) and be thinking about taking Viagra or one of the other similar drug treatments.
Perhaps you have already tried it?
Perhaps you didn’t get that great response you were expecting?
Read on and find out about some helpful tips about how best to use drug treatments for ED. Read in full
Men can now buy Viagra Connect (a brand name for sildenafil 50mg tablets) from pharmacies without a prescription following a short medical assessment with a pharmacist.
Viagra Connect is priced around £4 per tablet, and is available in packs of 4 and 8 only.
Compare prices of 50mg sildenafil on prescription from Dr Fox below:
| Qty | Viagra Connect | 50mg sildenafil |
|---|---|---|
| Pack of 4 | £17.50 | £6.50 |
| Pack of 8 | £33.50 | £11.90 |
Viagra became a powerhouse of a brand by promising to power up the sex life of couples across the globe. Viagra has become synonymous with helping men to get and keep an erection and has become a hot topic of conversation, there are even jokes about it:
What’s the difference between the first honeymoon and the second?
First honeymoon, Niagara. Second honeymoon, Viagra!
Let’s not for one moment, think of erectile dysfunction as a laughing matter. But, like all well-known brands, Viagra does draw attention. Read in full
The UK medicines regulator today (28 Nov 2017) approved an application to make Viagra available over the counter in pharmacies (‘P’ medicine classification). See MHRA reclassifies Viagra Connect tablets to a Pharmacy medicine.
Pfizer’s new product will be called Viagra Connect and will contain 50mg of Viagra (sildenafil) in packs of 2, 4 or 8 tablets and is expected to be available Spring 2018. Pricing is unconfirmed but likely to be around £5 per pill.
The MHRA’s decision follows the expiry of Pfizer’s exclusive patent for Viagra in 2013, after which other pharmaceutical companies were permitted to supply their own Sildenafil tablets and prices were slashed. More recently (14 November 2017) the patent expired for Cialis (another popular drug for erectile dysfunction), and the price of generic Cialis (‘Tadalafil’) is significantly lower. Read in full
Pfizer, the pharmaceutical company that developed Viagra (sildenafil), has applied to the UK medicines regulator (MHRA) to reclassify it’s erectile dysfunction (ED) drug from prescription-only to ‘P’ (Pharmacy). This would allow pharmacies to sell sildenafil over the counter without a prescription.
The application is for sildenafil 50mg only in a maximum pack size of 8 tablets. Sildenafil tablets are available on prescription in strengths of 25mg, 50mg, and 100mg in pack sizes of four and eight tablets.
The move follows the expiry of Pfizer’s exclusive patent for Viagra in 2013. After the patent expired other pharmaceutical companies, apart from Pfizer, have been permitted to supply their own sildenafil tablets, sometimes known as generic Viagra.
The application has support from the pharmacy industry: “Sildenafil is one of the most counterfeited medicines,” said Royal Pharmaceutical Society president Martin Astbury, with many men “resorting to the internet to buy medication”. Read in full
With all of the publicity surrounding ‘the little blue pill’, it may seem as though you could just borrow one from a friend to help you regain your sex life. But while Viagra is effective, and has relatively few side effects, it is a prescription-only medicine and must be taken under a doctor’s care.
UPDATE APRIL 2018: Viagra Connect contains sildenafil 50mg and is now available over the counter from a pharmacist.
Some patients are not good candidates for Viagra; due to certain medical conditions or other medications they are taking they may be at higher risk of side effects. Erectile dysfunction can be indicative of an underlying health condition that should be treated before considering Viagra, and still other cases of ED are psychological, requiring counselling and therapy instead of medication.
Learn why it is important that Viagra, and all other PDE5 inhibitors, be taken only under a doctor’s care. Read in full
One of the most common questions associated with sildenafil (Viagra) and other PDE5 inhibitors is how long does it last?
The simple answer is usually around 4 hours, with the maximum effect between 30 mins and 2.5 hours after taking – see graph below. However several factors will have an effect on how quickly the drug is absorbed and expelled from the bloodstream.
The following timeline has been collated from several studies:
As soon as a potential patient thinks of taking medicine for erectile dysfunction, these practical questions come into play:
Though specific questions or concerns should always be discussed with a doctor, it never hurts to be informed about any medicine you are thinking of taking. Read in full
If you have erectile dysfunction, desperation can drive you to consider almost any option. But it’s important to avoid the temptation of buying any drug that isn’t currently licenced and regulated for sale in the UK, particularly when buying online. Read in full
