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The Impact Of Sildenafil Citrate On The Drug Industry

Good Essays

John Jayasankar
AP Biology
Mr. Cross
Drug Paper
October 5, 2014
Viagra

History: Viagra also known as sildenafil citrate was originally synthesized at Pfizer headquarters in Sandwich, Kent, England by a group of pharmaceutical chemists in 1989. The two people who are attributed with creating sildenafil citrate, and who were consequently the most important in doing research and development on the drug were chemists Peter Dunn and Albert Wood. They originally composed this drug, sildenafil citrate, to help treat angina and high blood pressure, two symptoms that are usually indicative of coronary heart disease. The drug is classified as UK-92480. Later, in 1991, when the drug is patented by Dr. Nicholas Terrett, who is also referred to as “the father of Viagra”, sildenafil citrate received its modern name, Viagra. A few years afterward, in the early 1990s, Pfizer compiles several early test in order to prove Viagra’s capabilities in reducing angina and treating high blood pressure. These trials, however, prove that Viagra is not effective at treating this symptoms at all, although the trial patients were reporting ongoing erections after consuming Viagra. This got Pfizer thinking, and in March of 1998, Pfizer re-patents Viagra and the FDA approves it, and instead markets it as a drug to help people who are suffering from erectile dysfunction (ED), and this time Pfizer has research to back their claim. In the first year alone, over 40,000 prescriptions were written

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