Pharmaceutical
and medical sources indicated that the sales volume of erectile dysfunction drugs
in the GCC countries exceeded 140 million riyals during the last year and the
Saudi market share of which amounted to more than 80% of sales volume, while
the UAE is in second place followed by Kuwait. The sources pointed out that the drugs sales of (Aober Lima)
and (Viagra) for erectile dysfunction in the Saudi market for the year 2002
amounted to more than 150 million riyals.
The
reason for the big spending on these drugs is due to the high incidence of
diabetes that lead to erectile dysfunction in addition to the presence of various
other reasons.
Andrology
and infertility consultant, Dr. Khaled Al-Zahrani believes that Viagra pills
have the lion's share in the Saudi market, where this share amounted to more
than 80% of consumption due to the high degree of safety and the experience of
the manufacturer which doubled its profits over the past five years by Viagra
sales, which prompted a number of medical companies and research labs to try to
produce a competitor drug in the local and global market.
Al-Zahrani
has warned at the same time from the abuse of drugs that are not detected its
integrity or those that are still in the experimental process. The company has
been producing for a drug (Aberama) has announced its withdrawn from the
market as a result of its failure, the most important drugs for treatment of
sexual impotence, which accounted for 20% of the GCC market (Cials, Senafi,
Levitra).
On the
other hand, the Gulf market is still, like other Arab countries witnessing
smuggle of counterfeit and cheap Viagra which prompted the producers of the
original drug to warn against having these smuggled drugs to lack of safety and
containment of toxic materials, the manufacturer has warned that the increasing
smuggling operations may lead to more health risks to users of these counterfeit and cheap drugs.