A lawsuit was filed on Wednesday demanding a reduction in the price of Viagra, which is used as a sexual stimulant and has recently seen a price surge, citing its importation in dollars from abroad. The lawsuit, presented by attorney Hani Samih before the first circuit of rights and freedoms at the State Council, stated that the prices of raw materials for medications in dollars are very marginal in the pharmaceutical industry and do not significantly affect costs, thus there is no need for the exaggerated prices of Viagra currently.
The lawsuit called for the cancellation of the price increase for Viagra, noting that the cost of the active raw material for a single pill is less than "one cent" or 8 piasters; considering that the price per kilogram of the raw material "sildenafil" is 18 dollars, which can produce 10,000 pills with a concentration of 100 mg, and the pill is sold at a price of 25 Egyptian pounds or 100 pounds for a pack of 4 pills.
The lawsuit added that one kilogram contains one million milligrams of raw material, producing hundreds of thousands of packs at a cost of just a few piasters. It clarified that the cost of the packaging material is 32 piasters, and the pharmaceutical producers and distributors sell them with a markup of 300 packs for every 100 packs, to maximize profits given the marginal cost of raw materials in dollars.
One Egyptian pound consists of 100 piasters, while the official price of the dollar in Egyptian banks is approaching 50 pounds.
