Why should men buy Nuviva instead of Viagra? If you want an unbiased opinion, perhaps youd like to volunteer for clinical trials in the Philippines. Alok Kanti, general manager of Bayer Philippines Inc.s Pharmaceuticals Business Group, said that to develop such a drug, you need to conduct "rigidity tests" and determine the duration of an erection. Too brief and your drug is a flop; too long and the consumer could end up in a hospital and the drug company gets a lawsuit. Kanti said patients put on Nuviva were measured for erectile function, intercourse satisfaction, orgasmic function and overall sexual satisfaction.
Volunteers naturally need to get it up first for their tests. To help them along, Kanti said theyre given VCDs or videotapes to watch. I couldnt resist asking Kanti how you measure rigidity. You put weights, someone told me helpfully; I couldnt get a serious answer from all the laughter in the room.
So Nuviva probably takes effect faster and performs better. Will it be more affordable? Viagra isnt cheap. Then again, do we care if such drugs are beyond the reach of a majority of Filipinos? After all, failure to get it up is not a life-threatening problem, and we could use slower population growth.
But its not entirely a joke that erectile dysfunction can cause psychological problems and put a strain on marriages. And the cure, like many drugs in this country, is beyond the reach of most Filipinos.
Its easy to blame the multinationals for this and accuse them of greed, especially companies as big as Bayer. Meeting with Bayer executives, our talk ranged from cockroaches (easily zapped by their best-selling Baygon) to polyurethane and synthetic rubber for tires, to needle-free injection systems, Cipro the antidote to anthrax, and of course to their most famous product, Aspirin. Even the material used for CDs is made by Bayer. A company as huge as this is easily demonized.
Bayer, however, is projecting an image of "expertise with responsibility." Kantis counterpart in Bayers Consumer Care group, Reinhard Schellner, said drug pricing cannot simply be blamed on multinationals. Other countries have developed a strong local generic drug manufacturing sector to compete with the multinationals, forcing prices down, Schellner pointed out. He also said the Philippines budget allocation for public health care is way below the minimum set by the World Health Organization, thus putting many drugs beyond the reach of millions of Filipinos.
Schellner also has an interesting question: Shouldnt the value-added tax on pharmaceutical products, which he believes is a substantial amount, go to public health care? And speaking of VAT, he suggests tax breaks if the government wants to bring down the cost of branded medicine.
The government has stepped in, importing a handful of generic drugs from countries such as India. Kanti said they dont mind as long as the drugs are not patented. And theyre hoping the drugs efficacy is guaranteed.
Drug research is costly, Kanti pointed out. It takes an average of 11 years to develop a drug, and the cost has risen from $50 million per drug in the 1970s to a staggering $500 million. You need money for research, and you get the money from sales. Pharmaceutical companies are discussing socialized pricing, Kanti said, but they cant give away everything at a loss.
If Viagra and Nuviva dont come cheap and power failure hits you, go natural and try durian instead.