Black Market Sales Of Viagra In Saudi Arabia

Pfizer's impotence drug Viagra (sildinafil) is selling on the blackmarket in Saudi Arabia for $53-$80 per pill, reports the Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper in Jeddah. The drug is being hand-carried from Egypt, the UK and Taiwan, it says, and some pills sold on the Saudi black market are red and yellow, indicating that they are counterfeits because the original Viagra is a blue pill.

Viagra is not yet licensed in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain or Oman. Pharmacists in the UAE said the delay in registering it could lead to widescale smuggling. Smuggling drugs to the UAE is not new, a Dubai pharmacist told Reuters; it is a flourishing business from Arab countries and Europe where some medicines are either cheaper or sold over the counter. The business in smuggled diet and abortion pills to the UAE is big, and Viagra will soon be added to the list, he said.

If and when Pfizer applies for registration in the UAE, US Food and Drug Administration approval could speed up the process which could take up to six months, said Mariam Galadary, Saudi Arabia's director of pharmacy and drug control.