Viagra for Children

I've been critical of some drug industry practices, I've been saying that me-too drugs don't always add much value, and I've said that many brand extensions and new formulations are just there to make more money for the drug company.

But there are also other, good, examples of what the drug industry does when they develop new indications and new drugs based on something they already have.

One example is Viagra for children.

Last year Pfizer got approval to sell Viagra, now named Revatio, to children. They tweaked the dose a tiny bit, 25 milligrams vs. 20, 50 and 100 milligrams for Viagra and gave the "new" drug a new look. Revatio is white and round, Viagra is a blue diamond.

Here's how the new drug works in children. Viagra increases blood flow (we all knew that, right?). But this isn't just something middle aged men are sometimes in need of, it turns out there is also a very deadly disease, called primary pulmonary hypertension, which is caused by constrictions in the blood vessels that supply the lungs.

Viagra dilates blood vessels, which promotes erections and dilates the vessels to the lungs which reduces blood pressure in the lungs. According to Pfizer, about 95% of young patients on Viagra survived 18 months, compared with the 65% survival predicted for the population with primary pulmonary hypertension.

Congratulations, Pfizer.