The little blue pill Viagra has been a revolution ever since its entry to the market. The use of this medication allows men bothered by the effects of erectile dysfunction to continue leading a normal and happy sex life. Before the advent of Viagra men around the world were resigned to the fact that Erectile dysfunction has put a permanent stop on their love life. Does that mean that erectile dysfunction is incurable? Absolutely not. Erectile dysfunction can be conquered by identifying the core cause and eliminating it. But among older men aged above 50 it’s impossible to completely overcome ED causing symptoms such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, arteriosclerosis amongst others. So without the use of Viagra it will be difficult for older men to enjoy a regular sex life.
What is Generic Viagra?
Viagra was launched by Pfizer in 1998 as an ED medication that will help men overcome their impotency. But what is important to note is that Viagra is just a brand name like Coke or Pepsi. The key chemical component is known as sildenafil citrate which is PDE5 inhibitor. So on expiry of the patent on Viagra it was possible for other manufactures to launch their own sildenafil medications on the market. These manufactures are known as generic manufacturers.
Generic medications of Viagra such as eriacta are also composed of sildenafil citrate and thus are known to be biochemically equivalent. This means that the medication consists of the same active chemical component along with the same manufacturing as well as packaging technology. So for all intents and purposes generic Viagra is an identical copy of the original medication. Thus the effectiveness and safety of both medications will remain the same.
Why does it cost lesser?
There are a couple of significant factors that lead to the cost of medications in the US to be on the higher side and they are
*Higher investment in production
The original manufactures have to invest significant millions in the research and development of a new drug. Along with this expensive clinical trials need to be conducted to prove the safety of this new medication. Due to this the cost of production of Viagra medication is significantly higher than that of generic medications.
*No government regulation on pricing
Unlike other developed countries there are no regulations on the rates at which medications should be sold in the US. This leaves pharmaceutical companies to charge as they wish on their medications. This combined with the fact lengthy patents are granted for the new medication ensures that the rates are high for a new brand launched medication.
Generic manufacturers on the other hand don’t have similar costs in production of their Silagra 100mg medications as there is no need for research and development as well as no need to conduct expensive clinical trials. This makes it possible for them to sell at far lower or affordable rates. Which is why the cost of FDA approved generic medication is far lower than the original brand name medications.
By Ella Stevens
