poledriver
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2005
- Messages
- 11,543
Pfizer to sell Viagra online in new move for drug companies
MEN who are bashful about needing help in the bedroom can now buy that little blue pill online.
In a first for the drug industry, Pfizer will begin selling its popular erectile dysfunction pill Viagra directly to patients on its website.
Men still will need a prescription to buy the blue, diamond-shaped pill on viagra.com, but they no longer have to face a pharmacist to get it filled. And for those who are bothered by Viagra's steep $25-a-pill price, Pfizer is offering three free pills with the first order and 30 per cent off the second one.
Pfizer's bold move blows up the drug industry's distribution model. Drugmakers don't sell medicines directly to patients. Instead, they sell in bulk to wholesalers, who then distribute the drugs to pharmacies, hospitals and doctors' offices.
But the world's second-largest drugmaker is trying a new strategy to tackle a problem that plagues the industry. Unscrupulous online pharmacies increasingly offer patients counterfeit versions of Viagra and other brand-name drugs for up to 95 per cent off with no prescription needed. Patients don't realise the drugs are fake or that legitimate pharmacies require a prescription.
Other major drugmakers likely will watch Pfizer's move closely. If it works, drugmakers could begin selling other medicines that are rampantly counterfeited and sold online, particularly treatments for non-urgent conditions seen as embarrassing. Think: diet drugs, medicines for baldness and birth control pills.
"If it works, everybody will hop on the train," says Les Funtleyder, a health care strategist at private equity fund Poliwogg who believes Pfizer's site will attract "fence-sitters" who are nervous about buying online.
Cont -
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/ne...r-drug-companies/story-fnddckzi-1226636392172
MEN who are bashful about needing help in the bedroom can now buy that little blue pill online.
In a first for the drug industry, Pfizer will begin selling its popular erectile dysfunction pill Viagra directly to patients on its website.
Men still will need a prescription to buy the blue, diamond-shaped pill on viagra.com, but they no longer have to face a pharmacist to get it filled. And for those who are bothered by Viagra's steep $25-a-pill price, Pfizer is offering three free pills with the first order and 30 per cent off the second one.
Pfizer's bold move blows up the drug industry's distribution model. Drugmakers don't sell medicines directly to patients. Instead, they sell in bulk to wholesalers, who then distribute the drugs to pharmacies, hospitals and doctors' offices.
But the world's second-largest drugmaker is trying a new strategy to tackle a problem that plagues the industry. Unscrupulous online pharmacies increasingly offer patients counterfeit versions of Viagra and other brand-name drugs for up to 95 per cent off with no prescription needed. Patients don't realise the drugs are fake or that legitimate pharmacies require a prescription.
Other major drugmakers likely will watch Pfizer's move closely. If it works, drugmakers could begin selling other medicines that are rampantly counterfeited and sold online, particularly treatments for non-urgent conditions seen as embarrassing. Think: diet drugs, medicines for baldness and birth control pills.
"If it works, everybody will hop on the train," says Les Funtleyder, a health care strategist at private equity fund Poliwogg who believes Pfizer's site will attract "fence-sitters" who are nervous about buying online.
Cont -
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/ne...r-drug-companies/story-fnddckzi-1226636392172
In the UK the huge online demand for lifestyle drugs seems to be they wouldn't be given or won't ask for a prescription. Weight loss, erectile dysfunction, hair loss etc. But we've also seena huge increase in lifesaving drugs being bought online, so I'm really curious why this is happening? Are people beginning to lack trust in health care profs and self-diagnosing and medicating online. I think a lot is long term or recreational drug use too. Any thoughts from anyone would be great to chat.
