Viagra To Be Sold Directly To Patients

There are thousands of junk emails that are received every day that offer alternatives to Viagra that will supposedly help men who have trouble with erectile dysfunction. The problem is that most of these products don’t work, and you are simply wasting your money on something that can never do you any good. For many men, the idea of having to go into a pharmacy to buy Viagra is very daunting and in some senses, shameful. So perhaps it is no surprise that so many turn to buying products online that claim to do the same job. It is easy to see how this can balloon into a very major problem for everyone involved.

But now it seems that Pfizer, the company that makes Viagra, is taking steps to fight against this problem. In a first for the drug industry, the company has announced that it will begin selling its popular and well-known erectile dysfunction pill directly to the customer online. This does not mean that we are seeing a deregulation of the drugs industry; it just shows that companies are thinking of new ways to help their customers. To show this, you’ll still need a prescription from your doctor if you want to get Viagra, but there is no need to go to a pharmacist to actually get the drug – it will be sent to you directly from the company’s website.

Viagra is known to be very expensive, so perhaps it is no surprise that so many people tried to find cheap alternatives online. But now that the real deal is available, it’s hoped that many people will stop turning to illegitimate sources in their quest to fight erectile dysfunction. Indeed, as mentioned previously this is the very first time that a drugs company has attempted this model of sales. In the past it has been the norm for drugs producers such as Pfizer to sell their products to wholesalers in bulk, who then distribute it to pharmacies, hospitals and doctors surgeries.

Pfizer has said they are attempting this new form of model as it can help to counter the effects of unscrupulous online pharmacies offering fake versions of Viagra at highly discounted rates. Not only does the effect the sales of real Viagra, it also could be dangerous for the health of the individuals who buy the fake drugs, that may come from companies that don’t go through the safety checks and requirements of those who are legitimate.

It is likely that the other drugs companies will very carefully watch Pfizer to see if this experiment with Viagra works. If it does, it could certainly be the case that some companies may start to roll out their own version of the model and sell their drugs online if a prescription is available. However, due to the unique nature of Viagra in that it is a highly popular, but in some ways, slightly embarrassing drug to buy, it could be that it could be more effective than others in the online sphere.

This is the latest step taken by Pfizer in their attempts to battle a number of the problems of the growing popularity of the internet. The issue is that many people like to use online pharmacies for convenience and perceived confidentiality, but the truth is that many online drugstores do not follow the guidelines that they are supposed to. This can lead to very bad practice within the industry that can see drugs being sold illegally to customers or counterfeit versions of the drugs used in their place to make profit.

Categories: company, drugs, erectile dysfunction, Online, online pharmacies, online pharmacy, pfizer, Viagra

Japan Welcomes New Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug

This month it has been announced that arthritis wellness in Japan is set to improve thanks to the approval of a new rheumatoid arthritis drug. Made by Manufacturer Pfizer Inc, Xeljanz is a twice-a-day pill which the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare have approved for use in patients whose wellbeing has not improved after using at least one other disease-modifying drug.

When you have rheumatoid arthritis (RA), it means that your immune system mistakenly attacks your body’s tissues, mainly in your joints. This disabling autoimmune disorder limits your mobility and sometimes leaves your fingers bent at uncomfortable angles. RA generally gets worse with time, even attacking your lungs, heart, eyes, skin, blood and nerves. Early, aggressive treatment can slow the progression of the disease

Xeljanz works inside your cells, inhibiting your Janus kinase enzyme’s signalling pathways, which are involved in the inflammation caused by rheumatoid arthritis. This makes Xeljanz one of a new class of medicines called Janus kinase inhibitors, or JAK inhibitors for short, and is the first of this class to be approved for use. On the other hand, other RA drugs, such as Enbrel and Remicade, work outside your body’s cells, broadly suppressing your immune system in order to slow progression of the disorder.

These other RA drugs are expensive, must be injected or infused, and can cause significant side effects. You can experience persistent fevers, flu-like illness, susceptibility to infections and flare-ups of dormant diseases such as tuberculosis. According to Mark Swindell, head of Pfizer’s specialty care business in Japan, ‘RA is a serious and disabling disease and there is a need for new treatment options, as a significant number of patients do not adequately respond to current therapies.’

Pfizer is the world’s largest drugmaker by revenue, and the company commented that Xeljanz will initially only be made available in Japan to medical institutions participating in a programme monitoring the progress of all patients. The drug was approved as for use in the US in November, and now with Japan welcoming Xeljanz it could be a potential big seller for Pfizer. In Japan, 750,000 people are affected by rheumatoid arthritis, and Pfizer asserted that up to one-third of patients don’t respond adequately to current therapies.

Japan Welcomes New Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug

Categories: Arthritis, arthritis drug, current therapies, JAK Inhibitors, janus kinase, Japan, pfizer, ra drugs, Rheumatoid Arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), xeljanz

The Investment of Arthritic Medicine

A new drug to help the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis has entered lawmakers’ scopes as is becomes a topic of controversy regarding investment issues.

A political debate over Xeljanz, produced by Pfizer, has cost taxpayers a whopping $24,666 (£16,193) a year, which is said to grow into $2.3 billion by 2018, reflecting the company’s initial investment of $1 billion two decades ago. Pfizer joined up with a research team to produce Xeljanz. Initially, the company declined involving itself with the research team in 1994, the pricing terms of which asked for the company to “reflect the taxpayers’ investment and the health and safety needs of the public.”

Two years later, the pricing clause was removed and Pfizer worked with the team to create Xeljanz, a protein-based drug to reduce the symptoms of arthritis.

“When taxpayer-funded research helps stimulate efforts like the Xeljanz research and development program, there is a substantial return on investment,” the Pfizer statement says. “If a company chooses to initiate a high-risk $1 billion investment, as we did, that is a significant return to the American public.”

The National Institutes of Health however, has been treated with scrutiny, with its research reportedly having no “treatment-related discoveries and did not contribute in any way to the Xeljanz R&D program.” Furthermore, the report was notably vague, which means that the public’s investments into the drug is being treated with significant concern.

“American taxpayers are entitled to realize a return on their investment in N.I.H. research resulting in this — or any other — breakthrough drug. Surely price gouging isn’t what they expect or deserve,” U.S. Representative Henry A. Waxman, D-Calif told the New York Times.

With the grey area of tax-funded medication, the debate is drawn as to whether or not publicly-funded medication should cost its prescriber less. With companies attempting to make a profit and its consumers trying to improve their lives, it is interesting that the question is not “does it work?” but instead is, “how much will it cost?”

The Investment of Arthritic Medicine

Categories: Arthritis, business, company, Corporate, Finance, funded medication, investment, Osteoarthritis, Pain Relief, pfizer, Research, research team, xeljanz