Thursday, February 22, 2007

Pfizer - Viagra: AHF petition against OTC


The AIDS Healthcare Foundation has announced it will petition FDA to reject Pfizer's request to sell the company's erectile dysfunction drug Viagra without a prescription, United Press International reports.

The group said it learned through recent media reports that Pfizer has "admitted for the first time" that it is seeking FDA approval to sell Viagra without a prescription in U.S. pharmacies, United Press International reports.

AHF earlier this month announced that it is banning Pfizer sales representatives from its facilities worldwide, including 14 centers in California and Florida, during business hours in response to how the drug maker markets Viagra.

In January, the foundation filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against Pfizer for allegedly promoting recreational use of Viagra in advertisements. AHF said Pfizer's ads for the drug have increased risky sexual behavior, as well as cases of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, among men.

The suit asks that Pfizer stop running ads that promote Viagra as a lifestyle drug and that the company fund ads promoting awareness about the risks associated with Viagra and STIs.

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However, there is no truth in the rumor that Viagra will soon be available in liquid form and will be marketed by Pepsi Cola as a power beverage suitable for use as-is, or as a mixer, under the name "Mount And Do".


Pepsi's proposed ad campaign will not suggest: "It will now be possible for a man to literally pour himself a stiff one."

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