Why would you buy unbranded ‘Viagra’?
When many people seek treatment for sexual dysfunction, particularly erectile dysfunction, their first thought would be to try the ‘little blue pill’ – Viagra. However, it is less widely known that Viagra is actually the brand name for the generic drug treatment, Sildenafil. Both are now available under their respective names, but Viagra appears to have claimed the lion’s share of brand recognition with many people assuming that it is the actual name of the medication.
Viagra is manufactured by Pfizer who had the original patent to produce the treatment and still have the rights to do so including the exclusivity of producing it in the blue diamond format. The colour and the shape have no effect on the pill’s efficacy but they are part of the brand and a key factor in determining what product people will purchase.
Buy Viagra online in Australia
However, the patent ran out in 2013, so Prizer no longer have the exclusive rights to produce the treatment, and it is now possible to buy Sildenafil under it’s own name. This generic treatment is now widely available, produced by several different pharmacology companies, who typically produce it as a quite unremarkable white round or oval pill.
The proliferation of the generic treatments, and the fact that there are several manufacturers involved has lead to something of a price war. The treatment offered is frequently found to be around 40-50% less than Viagra, and has also been responsible for a price drop in the Viagra product. As long-term usage, and therefore ongoing cost, is likely to be a factor, it is reasonable to assume that a decrease in the demand for the branded product will follow the availability of cheaper alternatives, as has been seen in the painkiller and flu remedy markets.
Customer demand is therefore the key determinant and that comes down to several factors including trust, price and knowledge. Essentially Sildenafil is no different to Viagra as they are created from exactly the same drug and additives plus or minus some blue dye. Customer’s perceptions of this however might take a little longer to change, as several research papers showing the placebo effect of the name and its affect on people’s perception of the efficacy of branded vs. non branded drugs would demonstrate.
It may well be price that is key in getting someone to try the unbranded version, though again the adage of ‘you get what you pay for’ does not bode well. Certainly there is no marketing plan behind a generic product and there is no doubt that Viagra certainly captured the market and the imagination. Additionally, people are understandably and justifiably wary of buying unknown pills with long names off the internet, which may also put some people off. However, the fact remains that just with generic painkillers, what is in the packet is just the same regardless of the name.
I am General practitioner (GP) in Melbourne since 2006.