# Radio commercial: Don't paid $18 a pill for Viagra... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 18, 2011, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-commercial-dont-paid-18-a-pill-for-viagra/600078 "2011-10-18T23:26:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-commercial-dont-paid-18-a-pill-for-viagra/600078/1 "2011-10-18T23:26:28Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-commercial-dont-paid-18-a-pill-for-viagra/600078/2 "2011-10-18T23:46:01Z")
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.) ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-commercial-dont-paid-18-a-pill-for-viagra/600078/3 "2011-10-19T00:06:15Z")
Sounds about right. I forget which dose I got. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-commercial-dont-paid-18-a-pill-for-viagra/600078/4 "2011-10-19T03:08:02Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-commercial-dont-paid-18-a-pill-for-viagra/600078/5 "2011-10-19T10:14:25Z")
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”. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-commercial-dont-paid-18-a-pill-for-viagra/600078/6 "2011-10-19T10:30:27Z")
In Thailand, generic brands are available, e.g. “Penagra.” About 2 years ago, the priced dropped from about $2 per pill to about $1. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-commercial-dont-paid-18-a-pill-for-viagra/600078/7 "2011-10-19T11:35:30Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > 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”. 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. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-commercial-dont-paid-18-a-pill-for-viagra/600078/8 "2011-10-19T12:26:48Z")
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.