Thailand to release generic anti-impotence drug Silagra

[Spitfire]

Generic 'viagra' available next month
Published: 5/09/2012 at 07:31 PM
Online news: Local News

The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) plans to produce an affordable, generic anti-impotence drug and says it will be available in the marketplace from Oct 15.

GPO chief Witit Artavatkun said on Wednesday that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given permission to the GPO to produce Silagra - a Viagra equivalent that contains generic sildenafil, the same drug that powers Viagra.

"This will help deal with counterfeit drugs," Dr Witit said. "There are also many elderly people in the country, making this type of drug more popular, but it is less accessible because of its high price."

The generic drug will come in tablet form in dosages of 50mg and 100mg. A 50mg tablet will be sold at 25 baht each and a 100mg tablet 45 baht, he said.

Viagra is currently priced about 200 baht a pill in the market, he added.

The issue has attracted many comments from Thai netizens in different forums.

One of the comments jokingly asked whether the government's 30-baht universal healthcare scheme can be applied.

Another netizen suggested that the generic anti-impotence drug should also be sold in popular convenience stores.

Source - Bangkok Post.....http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/3 ... next-month

Comment - Glad they have their priorities right.

[Spitfire]

25-40 baht a pill?

Sure many will get in on the experiment to see if it works........but Yee-haaaa!

Another netizen suggested that the generic anti-impotence drug should also be sold in popular convenience stores.

What? Rather like paracetamol?

[wpcoe]

Will this new generic be legally available without prescription?

[J.J.B.]

Will this new generic be legally available without prescription?

Generic drugs are based on the licensed status of the drugs they are copies of so if the branded equivalent is available at a pharmacy or over-the-counter in a 7-11, so should the generic. Sildenefil was developed by Pfizer's R&D team in Sandwich, Kent, as a cardiovascular drug and as such should be used with caution in those who have any kind of heart condition as deaths have occurred following use.

Many drugs follow the route from prescription only to pharmacy dispensed to over-the-counter (POM to P to OTC) but usually after many years' safety monitoring and often at a lower dosage. I'm not au fait with the regulatory status of drugs in Thailand but I doubt it differs much from this model.

[Khundon1975]

I tried it, put one in my shoe and it made me limp. What a waste of money.

I'll get my coat.

[wpcoe]

Will this new generic be legally available without prescription?

Generic drugs are based on the licensed status of the drugs they are copies of so if the branded equivalent is available at a pharmacy or over-the-counter in a 7-11, so should the generic. Sildenefil was developed by Pfizer's R&D team in Sandwich, Kent, as a cardiovascular drug and as such should be used with caution in those who have any kind of heart condition as deaths have occurred following use.

Many drugs follow the route from prescription only to pharmacy dispensed to over-the-counter (POM to P to OTC) but usually after many years' safety monitoring and often at a lower dosage. I'm not au fait with the regulatory status of drugs in Thailand but I doubt it differs much from this model.

So, in other words: no?

If I understand correctly, in Thailand Viagra is not legally dispensable at pharmacies without a prescription. That's not to say that the law is widely ignored and many pharmacies DO dispense Viagra without a prescription.

Therefore, the Silagra would also not be legal without a prescription, although pharmacies may dispense it?

[blue05]

Will this new generic be legally available without prescription?

Generic drugs are based on the licensed status of the drugs they are copies of so if the branded equivalent is available at a pharmacy or over-the-counter in a 7-11, so should the generic. Sildenefil was developed by Pfizer's R&D team in Sandwich, Kent, as a cardiovascular drug and as such should be used with caution in those who have any kind of heart condition as deaths have occurred following use.

Many drugs follow the route from prescription only to pharmacy dispensed to over-the-counter (POM to P to OTC) but usually after many years' safety monitoring and often at a lower dosage. I'm not au fait with the regulatory status of drugs in Thailand but I doubt it differs much from this model.

So, in other words: no?

If I understand correctly, in Thailand Viagra is not legally dispensable at pharmacies without a prescription. That's not to say that the law is widely ignored and many pharmacies DO dispense Viagra without a prescription.

Therefore, the Silagra would also not be legal without a prescription, although pharmacies may dispense it?

If Viagra is not available over the counter then why do Boots sell it without prescription? Or are they just ignoring the law like others?

[wpcoe]

Interesting point about availability in Boots without script, but I do know that before codeine became a controlled substance only available at hospital pharmacies, it was supposed to be "prescription only" but I could get codeine at Boots without a prescription. (This was quite a few years ago.)

Googling about legality of Viagra in Thailand quotes many people saying it is only legal by prescription, but turns up no government policy or law.

Any medical experts know what the real deal is?

[margaretcarnes]

Maybe stating the glaringly obvious - but why do guys living in Thailand need Viagra type drugs in the first place?
Surely that's why many of them are there in the first place......

[Dr Mike]

This by prescription--OTC discussion is boring.

YES, it will only be available by prescription, by law.

YES, there will be pharmacies that will ignore the law (not all, you may have to research)

Just like EVERY other medication.

[MrPlum]

Maybe stating the glaringly obvious - but why do guys living in Thailand need Viagra type drugs in the first place......

We are called 'Homo Erectus' because we stand upright. Unfortunately, mostly after 50, many have restricted blood flow to their crown jewels. You cannot arrive in the land of honey and not be able to sip some of the nectar. Once virile men, who remember when the damn thing would wake up at the most inopportune moments... on buses, trains, in the middle of a Sunday service... now have to deal with fear of failure and the humiliation that goes with it. Men, whose brains are in their balls, have a particularly hard... err... soft... time of it.

I suspect if some tanned devastatingly young Adonis, with rippling muscles, dashing charm and a glint in his eye, made a pass at you Margaret, and couldn't perform, you would be rushing him to the nearest pharmacy.

[wpcoe]

This by prescription--OTC discussion is boring.

YES, it will only be available by prescription, by law.

Thanks for confirming that Viagra is, by law at least, available only by prescription. I *thought* I knew that as *fact,* but keep getting challenged by folks saying there is no legal need for prescription.

[centermid7]

Just curious if anyone has found any of the new generic in any of the pharamacies here in HH as yet?

I've asked about it in a couple of places and they did not have it nor even knew anything about it.

[midlandmike]

This month.

I was told by a pharmacist near to Nana Plaza and they should know

[midlandmike]

It is available in BKK--- 200b for 4 x 100mg pills