Fortune 500 company Pfizer gave sildenafil the brand name Viagra after the drug received FDA approval in 1998.
Sildenafil was originally studied by Pfizer as a possible treatment for cardiovascular conditions, including angina. Although it did not perform well for that purpose, clinical-trial participants reported an unexpected effect. Researchers then focused on its potential use in treating erectile dysfunction.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Viagra in March 1998. It became the first oral treatment for erectile dysfunction approved in the United States and quickly became one of Pfizer’s best-known products.
Viagra is the brand name, while sildenafil is the drug’s generic name. Lipitor, another Pfizer-associated product, is atorvastatin, a cholesterol-lowering medicine; it is not the same drug. Sildenafil is also sold under other brand names and in different formulations for pulmonary hypertension.