Viagra vs generic

[stewamax]

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency allows Viagra in the form of 50mg pills to be sold OTC with the pharmacist's approval.
Since it is sold at around £4 - £5 per tab, Pfizer must be very pleased.

But DAK why the MHRA didn't also approve 50mg tabs of generic sildenafil which is cheaper?
Or it they did, the high street pharmacies don't publicise it for OTC sales, presumably to protect their sales of branded Viagra.

However, a pharmacy contact tells me that the generic should be available OTC on the same basis as 50mg Viagra.
And an NHS GP will (sensibly) not normally prescribe anything but generic sildenafil.

I am now confused - but fortunately not suffering from the condition that these meds are designed to palliate.

[servodude]

But DAK why the MHRA didn't also approve 50mg tabs of generic sildenafil which is cheaper?
Or it they did, the high street pharmacies don't publicise it for OTC sales, presumably to protect their sales of branded Viagra.

you have hit it on the head there

interestingly it (sildenafil) was on the list of things being tested as a covid treatment a few months ago - wonder how it got on

- sd

[AleisterCrowley]

It was up against some stiff competition

[GrahamPlatt]

But DAK why the MHRA didn't also approve 50mg tabs of generic sildenafil which is cheaper?
Or it they did, the high street pharmacies don't publicise it for OTC sales, presumably to protect their sales of branded Viagra.

you have hit it on the head there

interestingly it (sildenafil) was on the list of things being tested as a covid treatment a few months ago - wonder how it got on

- sd

Possibly because one of its lesser known properties is its action on the pulmonary vessels https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10 ... 0406-804OC

Edit: that’s a reply to how it may have got on the list of things being tested. As to how it “got on” in the sense of efficacy, I don’t know. Not well I suspect, given the background pathology being inflammation & clotting.