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Sexual chemistry: Pfizer & the search for the new Viagra

Drug companies spend billions of pounds chasing “the next big thing” – the wonder pill that will change the world and earn millions for its creators. Viagra, discovered by chance by pharmacists seeking a treatment for angina, is just such a drug.

Drug companies spend billions of pounds chasing “the next big thing” – the wonder pill that will change the world and earn millions for its creators. Viagra, discovered by chance by pharmacists seeking a treatment for angina, is just such a drug.

Pfizer, the US colossus that holds the patent, earned $1.6bn (£800m; E1.2bn) from Viagra sales last year. This is big money, even in an industry known for its blockbuster earnings.

But standing still is a recipe for disaster and Pfizer risks squandering Viagra's legacy. With fake Viagra flooding the internet and British rival, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), working on a gel that could be widely available in chemists by 2009 (unlike Pfizer's little blue pill, which requires a doctor's prescription), Pfizer is playing a desperate game of catch up.

As The Business revealed last week, the company is discussing an over-the-counter version of Viagra aimed at boosting sales and seeing-off challenges from rivals such as GSK.

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