Posted on: Wednesday, August 4, 2004
Pfizer sues sites selling fake Viagra
By Jon Swartz
USA Today
SAN FRANCISCO — Pfizer, the world's biggest drugmaker, said yesterday that it is taking legal action against dozens of online pharmacies and spammers it claims are selling illegal versions of anti-impotence drug Viagra.
Advertiser library photo The company sued five Web sites for trademark infringement and filed dozens of legal proceedings to seize domain names of sites it says sell fake Viagra. The lawsuits seek an immediate end to the sites and unspecified damages.
Pfizer also plans an Internet ad campaign to direct prospective Viagra users to Pfizer's Web site. More than one-fourth of men mistakenly believe Pfizer is the source of Viagra-themed spam, according to a recent Pfizer survey of 676 men over the age of 35 in the United States.
"We're concerned consumers are buying products that are harmful to them," Pfizer spokesman Bryant Haskins says.
Viagra is one of the most recognized pharmaceutical brands. More than 350,000 Web sites — many of them illegal — advertise or sell it. A large chunk of some 7 trillion spam messages peddle Viagra. Pfizer says it does not know how much money it is losing from online sales of faux Viagra.
The company clearly wants to preserve its stronghold on Viagra sales. Its revenue for the drug was $1.9 billion worldwide last year, but it faces competition from Cialis, sold by Eli Lilly and Icos; and Levitra, from GlaxoSmithKline and Bayer.
Pfizer is a rare non-tech company to take on purveyors of unsolicited e-mail. But spam experts say the move is necessary to stem the sale of fake Viagra and appease consumers who think Pfizer is behind junk e-mail.
Pfizer, the maker of Viagra, filed suit yesterday against five Web sites that are accused of selling illegal versions of the company's anti-impotence drug.
