By Dylan Housman
Russian men are being forced to turn to generic erectile dysfunction pills due to a ban on exports of Viagra to the country, according to Russian news agency TASS.
Viatris, the pharmaceutical company that manufactures Viagra, cut Russia off from supply of the drug Wednesday. The company informed the Kremlin in 2022 of its plans to stop shipping the product in tablet form to Russia due to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russia has been cut off by Viagra’s manufacturer, per BI.
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) February 16, 2023
The Industry and Trade Ministry of Russia released a statement saying a number of new companies had been registered to produce alternatives, although no companies in Russia currently produce pharmaceuticals with the active ingredient of Viagra, sildenafil, in them.
Viatris, a subsidiary of Pfizer, had reportedly been suffering financial losses in Russia due to supply chain issues caused by the war. Clinical trials in Russia were halted in 2022, and supply was limited to pre-existing customers.
The company said sales to Russia and Ukraine made up only about 1% of its total revenue in the first quarter of 2022. (RELATED: South Africa To Participate In Naval Exercise With Russia And China, Reportedly Sparking Anger From Western Nations)
According to the Kremlin, there are at least 36 companies inside Russia that have the “technological possibility” to replace Viagra with an erection pill of their own. It remains to be seen if any of them will successfully be able to do so.
Russia’s pharmaceutical industry has had to quickly adapt to making a variety of new medicines since the war began and interrupted supply chain processes, according to The Washington Post.
