Viagra Battle In China Not Over Yet

Ukmedix has previously reported on the landmark decision of the Chinese Courts in Beijing to prevent the makers of imitation Viagra selling their drugs in the country and elsewhere, but it appears that the battle is not over yet. In a statment released by the legal representatives of the 12 companies that make the imitation drugs and who Pfizer challenged in court they said that it was very likely that they would appeal. The lawyers also said that they were very surprised by the legal ruling and they needed time to look at the aspects of the case.

In the ruling the makers of Viagra namely Pfizer were given the sole sales rights in all of China for the selling of sildenafil citrate or Viagra. The case was very important as it set precedents for other companies that own patents which are being infringed in China and gave them hope that patent protection might improve.

Originally the State Intellectual Property Office had previously said that sildenafil citrate was not covered by patents in China and lots of different companies rushed in to produce imitation Viagra. The battle is being seen as one between the Patents Office and the interests of Chinese companies and on the other side the interests of international firms and the Chinese courts.

The Patent Office in China' originally agreed to give Viagra the soile rights to sidenafil citrate but overturned its own decision 3 years later. The battle has been been going back and forth for a long time and the drug industry needs a clear mandate on the Viagra issue so that future production and sales plans can be organised.

Pfizer and the Chinese companies will have to wait for the final outcome of what is seen to be a ruling worth hundreds of millions of dollars and one which will have financial implications far beyond just the Viagra drug but will also effect the sales of Cialis, Levitra and many other foreign drugs made in China.

The erectile dysfunction market in China is estimated to be worth 7.5 billion dollar a year and other drug companies like Bayer (maker of Levitra) and Eli Lilly (maker of Cialis) have invested in China despite the proliferation of copied erectile dysfunction medicines and the booming black market in these drugs.