–June 22, 2005
According to the Korean Food and Drug Administration, a 58-year-old man has claimed he almost lost his eyesight after taking Pfizer Inc.’s anti-impotence drug Viagra . The unidentified man reported the side effect to the Korean agency last month.
After purchasing Viagra at a pharmacy with a doctor’s prescription in April, the man, who allegedly suffers from diabetes, said he lost his sight in his left eye after a blood vessel in his retina ruptured after taking the drug.
Pfizer Korea reported the case to the KFDA, Pfizer’s U.S. headquarters and the U.S. FDA. The man reported his case of vision loss after hearing a news report that a Viagra user reported a similar case of vision loss to the FDA.
A KFDA official said the agency is still reviewing the case and it has not been confirmed whether or not the loss of eyesight was a side effect of Viagra or a complication of his diabetes. Last month, the FDA announced it had received 50 reports of vision loss among Viagra users, which the agency said it is studying.
The KFDA requested Pfizer submit reports on Viagra side effects every month after its 1999 entrance to the market created social waves. Since Viagra’s entrance, however, other anti-impotence drugs have entered the scene, which are not obligated to report side effects.
So far, a total of 622 cases of Viagra side effects have been reported to the KFDA since its inception. Viagra side effects account for 38.1 percent of the total side effect cases reported to the KFDA from all kinds of drugs.
For more information on the Viagra side effects, please contact us to confer with a Viagra lawyer and learn your legal rights and options.
