PFIZER FENDS OFF KNOCK-OFF VIAGRA IN CHINA

A Beijing court has ordered the three local drug manufacturers in China to pay a $38,000 fine, apologize publicly and stop making counterfeit versions of Pfizer's blockbuster impotence drug, Viagra, a company spokesman said.

Pfizer representative Bryant Haskins said the company won a trademark case in China blocking drugmakers from making pharmaceutical products that look like the blue diamond shape of its top-selling impotence drug.

"They were convicted of reproducing the diamond-shaped Viagra look. They had to pull it off the market," Haskins said. The drug manufacturers must print a public apology in a Chinese newspaper, Haskins said.

The fake product did not contain the patented active ingredient in Viagra and therefore it is not considered to be a generic equivalent, Haskins said. He said the ruling demonstrated the seriousness with which the Chinese government considers the rights of companies with a patented product.

"We believe that court decision is a strong indication that the Chinese government is moving in the right direction to protect intellectual property rights for innovators making or selling products in China," Haskins said.

Viagra is among the most counterfeited drugs in the world, Haskins said, pointing to research by the World Health Organization. Viagra has been used by 23 million men and had worldwide sales of $1.6 billion last year, according to Pfizer.