This is about the Canadian Supreme Court ruling that made Teva’s sildenafil available there.

Paul Goldfinger,  MD, Editor @Blogfinger.net and Professor at the Blogfinger Off-shore School of Medicine in Ocean Grove, NJ.

Men who use Pfizer’s Viagra for erectile dysfunction know how expensive that little blue pill is. In 2012, Pfizer made over $2 billion with it.

But the FDA has now approved low cost generic Viagra (sildenafil) to be manufactured by the Israeli company Teva, but that won’t begin until December, 2017 (and maybe sooner.)

The generic version (sildenafil) has been sold in Europe since 2013, so we know that it is a viable generic. It also has been for sale in Canada since 2012.

You can actually buy sildenafil now in the U.S, under the name Revatio, which is a drug approved for a lung/heart problem.  It comes in a dose of 20 mg (unlike Viagra which is in doses of 25 mg, 50 mg, or 100mg). The generic version of Revatio has been approved recently by the FDA.

If you are considering buying that generic, you might want to have a conversation with your pharmacist first.

Or, if you are anxious to get generic Viagra pricing, you can order from a legitimate Canadian company, and there are some, but that will be your responsibility to make that contact, and  you will need a prescription.   Your doctor may or may not cooperate with you for that.  And those Canadian companies often take weeks to get your prescription to you by mail, and sometimes their drugs are made in Turkey or India or other places.  That doesn’t mean that those drugs are a problem, but you need to get all the facts.

Be careful ordering on the Internet. The price will be enticing, but only use sites that you know are legitimate; and only those which require a doctor’s prescription.   There are some fraudsters patrolling the Web.  And don’t buy those non-Viagra supplements.  They are useless.

I also want to remind you of the significant side effects and drug interactions that are part of the story. Do not try any of these forms of sildenafil without discussing your treatment in great detail with your physician.

MARISA MONTE:  (She’s from Brazil where the Viagra patent ran out in 2014)

“I know a man ain’t supposed to cry.”

Well, Marisa’s funky intro means that you need at least 30 minutes for sildenafil to take effect, so if you want to surprise someone, be sure to plan ahead.

Marisa Monte.