Thailand to fight fake Viagra with cheap generic version

The diamond-shaped little blue pill, similar to the original that is produced by US pharmaceutical company Pfizer, has been named "Sidegra" and will be available on prescription all over the country.

Priced at 25 baht (80 US cents) per pill, Thailand's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that it will be ten times cheaper than the full-priced actual drug.

"This measure will solve widespread production of fake drugs by increasing accessibility to the legal version," News.com.au quoted FDA secretary general Pipat Yingseree, as saying in a statement.

The release also said that Pfizer had since looked to discount its pills by about 30 percent to "cooperate with the government on curbing fake drugs."

"Pfizer is selling at a discount to be able to compete with our Sidegra," an official at the state-run Government Pharmaceutical Organisation, which is producing the drug, said.