Viagra Sales To Reach $1 Billion In First Year

Sales of Pfizer's male impotence drug Viagra (sildenafil) are continuingto set records and are likely to reach $1 billion by March 1999, according to IMS Health. The first two-month sales of Viagra, at $182.2 million, were almost double the total revenues combined of the five leading drug launches of 1997 over the same period.

Myron Holubiak, general manager of the consulting arm of IMS, estimated that revenues will continue to soar despite lower than usual third-party coverage for the drug in the USA - 40% for Viagra versus 76% for all prescription drugs. "It seems that third-party pay organizations do not place as much value on sexuality as a part of health status as do their members or beneficiaries," said Mr Holubiak, adding that a key barometer to measure market demand and acceptance of the drug will be the refill rate of prescriptions.