Other impotence drugs now threaten Viagra
Makers of anti-impotence drugs traded claim and counter-claim on Monday in preparation for a $4bn battle over a market so far dominated by Viagra
Makers of anti-impotence drugs traded claim and counter-claim on Monday in preparation for a $4bn battle over a market so far dominated by Viagra.
Pfizer Inc's famous little blue pill will face its first real competition next year when two new drugs, Levitra and Cialis, go on sale in Europe and the United States.
GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Bayer AG, the makers of Levitra, presented data at a medical conference here showing their new impotence drug could boost men's chances of being able to have sex more than fivefold.
Pfizer hit back with results from a clinical study rebutting claims that Viagra was slower-acting than the newcomers. Viagra has been a huge commercial success for Pfizer, raking in 2001 sales of $1.5bn and establishing itself as the world's most famous pharmaceutical brand.
But analysts at Merrill Lynch believe there is considerable room for new entrants, since more than 50% of patients on Viagra fail to ask for a repeat prescription and up to 25% do not achieve an adequate erection.
GSK and Bayer, presenting long-term data for Levitra for the first time at the Congress of the European Society for Sexual and Impotence Research in Hamburg, said their drug had demonstrated excellent efficacy and safety.
Pfizer, denied that Viagra was slower-acting than the newcomers. Eli Lilly and Co's drug Cialis, developed with U.S. biotechnology company Icos Corp, in particular, has been widely reported to work faster than Viagra.
Reuter
Pfizer Inc's famous little blue pill will face its first real competition next year when two new drugs, Levitra and Cialis, go on sale in Europe and the United States.
GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Bayer AG, the makers of Levitra, presented data at a medical conference here showing their new impotence drug could boost men's chances of being able to have sex more than fivefold.
Pfizer hit back with results from a clinical study rebutting claims that Viagra was slower-acting than the newcomers. Viagra has been a huge commercial success for Pfizer, raking in 2001 sales of $1.5bn and establishing itself as the world's most famous pharmaceutical brand.
But analysts at Merrill Lynch believe there is considerable room for new entrants, since more than 50% of patients on Viagra fail to ask for a repeat prescription and up to 25% do not achieve an adequate erection.
GSK and Bayer, presenting long-term data for Levitra for the first time at the Congress of the European Society for Sexual and Impotence Research in Hamburg, said their drug had demonstrated excellent efficacy and safety.
Pfizer, denied that Viagra was slower-acting than the newcomers. Eli Lilly and Co's drug Cialis, developed with U.S. biotechnology company Icos Corp, in particular, has been widely reported to work faster than Viagra.
Reuter