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SCMP Reporter

But a pioneering Guangzhou firm faces fierce competition from drug pirates

Production of the mainland's latest alternative to Viagra will start this month after seven years of research.

The product's introduction could be good news for the millions of Chinese men aged between 40 and 70 who suffer from erectile dysfunction.

The Guangzhou Welman Pharmaceutical Company registered the trademark of Weige, meaning 'strong man', for its product on the mainland in June last year, after winning a protracted dispute with several competitors.

Welman is now the only company allowed to use the name, originally thought of by the media to describe the  impotence drug made by Pfizer before it was licensed and registered on the mainland.

Welman was granted a permit by the State Food and Drug Administration to produce the drug last month and the first batch is due to start production before the end of the month.

'We're delighted to have the licence,' said Xu Lijun, a manager for Welman. 'All the years we have spent on the project have finally paid off.'

But success for Weige is by no means assured, with the drug entering a market crowded with other local competitors and plagued by pirates and smugglers.

Pfizer's Wanaike, the Chinese name the company eventually settled on for its  product, went on sale on the mainland early last year but this failed to deter the sale of pirated versions.

A 19-year-old man from Liaoning, arrested in May for selling fake Viagra over the internet, is alleged to have made more than 100,000 yuan (HK$94,000) from his product in just six months. Last week, a man was arrested in Tianjin as he attempted to smuggle more than 4,000 counterfeit Viagra pills into the country.

'These kinds of tonic have always been popular in China,' said Ding Xuegang, an expert at the Nanjing Jinling Hospital in Jiangsu province. 'Nowadays people pay much more attention to the quality of their sex life and they're prepared to invest time and, more importantly, money in addressing whatever problems they may have.'

For those hoping for an even cheaper option, there is some good news: researchers working for US-based company Naturally Vitamins say that eating three watermelons in quick succession can produce the same effect as taking a single Viagra tablet due to the effect of a substance called citrulline.

Mr Ding said that about 52 per cent of Chinese men aged between 40 and 70 suffered from varying degrees of erectile dysfunction.

'There is room for many more players in the market,' he said.



'Strong Man' is the latest to give Viagra a run for its money