Lilly’s Cialis Sales In China Unimpressive
This article was originally published in PharmAsia News
Executive Summary
A year after Lilly entered China with erectile dysfunction drug Cialis (tadalafil) to compete with Pfizer's Viagra (sildenafil) and Bayer's Levitra (vardenafil), the latest entrant still lags behind the two rivals despite distributing its products to 5,000 drugstores. According to a principal drug chain, Cialis does not present any price advantage to retailers due to Lilly's strictly controlled high retail price. In addition, Viagra's dominant position and Pfizer's strong marketing support for its channels contribute to Cialis' poor take-up rate. Lilly China admits to Viagra having a first-entry advantage; however, the company is confident of Cialis' performance and believes it can compete effectively once the distribution channels are in place. (Click here for more - Chinese Language)