GERMANS INTERCEPT FAKE VIAGRA

Ananova reports that Customs officials in Germany seized 40,000 Viagra look-alike pills. Officials at Hamburg harbour said the diamond-shaped pills were stamped with the name "Diagra" but were otherwise just like the original product. According to police, the bogus tablets would fetch over £170,000 on the black market (that's £4.25, or US$6.70, per pill). Tests on the pills found that they contained the active ingredient sildenafil citrate, for which Pfizer, the makers of Viagra, owns the patent rights. A 49-year-old suspect, the recipient of the shipment from India, is being investigated for possible violation of Germany's drug laws.



The IPKat observes that, even though parallel trade has greatly reduced the per-unit price of Viagra, counterfeiting remains profitable and consumers are willing to take the risk of purchasing products without the benefit of medical advice. In areas such as healthcare, better education of the consuming public could do as much to stamp out counterfeiting of this nature as good policing of IP rights and legal enforcement.



Dangers of counterfeit Viagra here and here

Dangers of genuine Viagra here and here

Genuine Viagra for less than $10 per pill here