How much does pfizer make on viagra?
At its peak Pfizer made well over a billion dollars a year from Viagra — around $2.1 billion in 2012 — before patents expired and generic sildenafil took over.
At its peak, Pfizer made well over a billion dollars a year from Viagra — the drug brought in around $2.1 billion at its height in 2012 and topped $1 billion in annual sales for some 17 consecutive years. Since the key patents expired in 2020 and generic sildenafil flooded the market, that revenue has fallen sharply, but Viagra remains one of the most commercially successful medicines ever launched.
This is the business story behind the famous "little blue pill." It is a useful counterpoint to the medical questions about Viagra, because the economics — patents, generics and pricing — directly affect what men actually pay for treatment today.
A blockbuster from day one
Viagra received FDA approval on March 27, 1998, and was an immediate commercial hit. In its very first quarter on the market it generated about $400 million in revenue for Pfizer, an extraordinary launch that signaled just how large the demand for an effective ED treatment was. It quickly became one of the company's flagship products.
Two decades of billion-dollar sales
For most of its patent-protected life, Viagra was a reliable money-maker:
| Milestone | Figure |
|---|---|
| First-quarter revenue (1998) | ~$400 million |
| Peak annual sales (2012) | ~$2.1 billion |
| Global sales (2016) | ~$1.6 billion |
| Years above $1 billion in sales | About 17 |
Few drugs sustain billion-dollar annual sales for that long, which is why Viagra is so often cited as the textbook example of a pharmaceutical "blockbuster."
The patent cliff and generic competition
Pfizer's patents on Viagra expired in 2020 in major markets, opening the door to generic sildenafil from numerous manufacturers. Generic competition typically causes a steep drop in revenue for the original brand, and Viagra was no exception. The arrival of cheaper generics — and new forms of the medication — sharply reduced Pfizer's earnings from the brand, even as the total number of men treated stayed high.
Why this matters to you
The end of the patent is good news for patients: generic sildenafil offers the same active ingredient as brand-name Viagra at a far lower price, which is why cost varies so much depending on what you choose. We cover this in our articles on getting a prescription online and ordering Viagra safely. And whether you take the brand or the generic, the active ingredient is identical, as explained in what are the ingredients in Viagra. For the broader topic, see our guide to erectile dysfunction and male sexual health.