I know this is a commercial for some kind of generic Viagra, but my question is, Does the real Viagra that you get from a doctor’s prescription really cost $18.00 a pill?
As I recall, around these parts a blister pack of four 100mg pills would set you back ~$40 at your ordinary London Drugs sort of pharmacy - at least, this was so c. 2006.
(They also come in lower dose versions, but considerate doctors will write a 'script for the 100mg pills and advise the patient to break them in half or quarters if 25mg or 50mg is all that it takes - since the 25mg or 50mg versions are priced way above 25% or 50% of the extra-strength ones.)
Sounds about right. I forget which dose I got.
I’m a tech in a hospital pharmacy, and though I can’t off the top of my head remember the cost per of Viagra I can tell you $18 a pill is nothing. (Especially for non-generic drugs.) We have several pills that are about $50 each or more. And that’s just the cost to the HOSPITAL. By the time it’s billed it’s maybe 3 times that.
We have one IV drug called Argatroban (for blood clots) that is well over $2000 (I want to say closer to $3000 but couldn’t find a cite online for it) for a SINGLE dose - hospital cost. The mind reels at how much that must cost the patient/insurance company. You better believe before we make that the pharmacist double and triple checks that we have the right solution and right size bag before we shoot it in.
Presumably prices will soon plummet - Pfizer’s US patent on sildenafil citrate runs out in less than six months, opening the way for generic “Viagra”.
In Thailand, generic brands are available, e.g. “Penagra.” About 2 years ago, the priced dropped from about $2 per pill to about $1.
My pharmacist told me this when I had my last prescription filled. $95 for 5. He said generics will be in the $3 to $4 range.
Interesting. I pay about $60 for the 4 pack of 100 mg and cut them in two. But I can believe $18 at some pharmacies. I look forward to generic, that’s for sure.