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 The U.K. is set to be the first country to allow over-the-counter sales of the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra, after the medication was reclassified. 
 
 Instead of going to see a doctor, men over the age of 18 will be able to obtain the drug after a conversation with a pharmacist. “Erectile dysfunction can be a debilitating condition, so it’s important men feel they have fast access to quality and legitimate care,” said Mick Foy of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the body that made the decision. A four-pack of the drug, the formal name for which is Sildenafil, will cost around £20 ($27). 
 
 Pfizer, the U.S. pharmaceutical company that manufactures the drug, said it had plans to launch a non-prescription version of Viagra in spring 2018, according to Reuters. 
 
 The MRHA made the decision to deregulate the drug after a public consultation, and said it hoped the rule change would reduce the number of people buying counterfeit versions of the drug, which can be dangerous. The agency said that it had seized over £50m ($67m) of unlicensed and counterfeit erectile dysfunction medications in the past five years. ||||| FILE PHOTO: The Pfizer logo is seen at their world headquarters in New York April 28, 2014. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo 
 
 LONDON (Reuters) - Pfizer’s big-selling erectile dysfunction drug Viagra has been given a green light for sale without a prescription in Britain, the first country to grant it over-the-counter status. 
 
 The U.S. drugmaker said on Tuesday it was working on plans to launch the non-prescription version of the medicine, known as Viagra Connect, in the United Kingdom in the spring of 2018. 
 
 The drug will only be available in pharmacies and its supply will depend on pharmacists’ assessment of its suitability for each individual. 
 
 Viagra has been one of the pharmaceutical industry’s most successful prescription products since its launch in 1998, following a serendipitous discovery of its effects by researchers who had been studying it as a heart medicine. 
 
 It achieved peak worldwide sales of more than $2 billion in 2012 but sales have since declined as patents have expired, prompting Pfizer to explore extending its brand value as a non-prescription drug. 
 
 Viagra is so far the only erectile dysfunction medicine to be reclassified from “prescription only medicine” to “pharmacy” status in Britain. The change follows a lengthy review by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). 
 
 Pfizer will continue to make Viagra available as a prescription drug but the option of also buying it over-the-counter is likely to reduce demand for potentially ineffective and dangerous fakes. 
 
 “It’s important men feel they have fast access to quality and legitimate care, and do not feel they need to turn to counterfeit online supplies which could have potentially serious side effects,” said Mick Foy, the MHRA’s group manager in vigilance and risk management of medicines. ||||| The U.K. has become the first place in the world to allow Viagra, U.S. drug giant Pfizer’s mega-selling erectile dysfunction treatment, to be sold over the counter and without a prescription. Men seeking out the little blue pill will be able to buy Viagra Connect—which has the same central ingredient as regular Viagra—for about £19.99 for a pack of four pills and £34.99 for an eight-pack at the pharmacy. 
 
 Pfizer (pfe) has been fighting to get Viagra an over-the-counter designation in the U.K. for a while now. In fact, it made its first request for direct pharmacy sales of Viagra in the U.K. nearly a decade ago and has also tried to get the European Union to approve a change from prescription to over-the-counter status. Beginning in spring 2018, Pfizer says, the OTC version of Viagra will be available to consumers (as long as the pharmacist thinks it’s okay for the individual). That could help reduce some of the embarrassment factor that erectile dysfunction patients sometimes face. 
 
 Viagra has already faced competition from generic drug competitors in Europe after losing patent protection. In April 2020, it will also lose patent protection in the U.S., and generic Viagra versions will then be able to hit the American market. 
 
 Globally, Pfizer raked in about $1.6 billion in Viagra sales in 2016.
– For the first time ever, Viagra will be available over the counter and without a prescription. Reuters reports Pfizer plans to start selling an over-the-counter version of the erectile dysfunction medication this spring in the UK. The new Viagra Connect will have the same major ingredient as regular Viagra, according to Fortune. Sales of Viagra have been declining since 2012, and Pfizer hopes an over-the-counter version will open a new revenue channel. The drug maker has been pushing for the UK to reclassify Viagra as a non-prescription drug for nearly a decade. That finally happened courtesy of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, Time reports. “Erectile dysfunction can be a debilitating condition, so it’s important men feel they have fast access to quality and legitimate care,” says Mick Foy of the MHRA. The agency hopes allowing anyone over the age of 18 to purchase Viagra at the pharmacy will reduce the number of people who buy dangerous counterfeit erectile dysfunction medication. Viagra Connect is the first non-prescription erectile dysfunction medication in the UK. It will cost approximately $27 for a four-pack.