Impotence Drugs Trigger a Marketing Battle

Judging from the number of times the word "erection" has been used on television in recent months, you might think that episodes of The Sopranos or NYPD Blue are airing more than programming schedules indicate.

Not exactly. This expansion of TV's vocabulary represents government-approved commercials -- with government-required descriptions of side effects -- for impotence treatments, as the manufacturers of the newest drugs, Levitra and Cialis, step up their campaigns to take customers away from Viagra, which had a U.S. monopoly for more than five years.

The descriptive ads are only part of what is shaping up as a fierce and expensive marketing battle for drugs treating erectile dysfunction, better known to marketers as E.D.

"I haven't seen this kind of competition in a long time," said John Mack, editor and publisher of Pharma Marketing News, a monthly Internet magazine that analyzes marketing trends. "The acquisition of each E.D. patient is worth a lot of money. If the drug works for you, there's no incentive to switch."

The market, however, is still unpredictable, as Levitra, which reached the U.S. market in August, and Cialis, which joined the fray in November, seek new patients. That means companies are offering a lot of free samples, discounts and other marketing come-ons.

Drug companies frequently cite research suggesting that some 30 million American men suffer from erectile dysfunction, adding that 30% or more have tried the drugs. But determining how many men will take the drugs consistently is a tough task, given the flurry of product-switching, experimenting and hard-to-measure behavior of customers that can confound Wall Street as well as Madison Avenue.

"The market is really complex and dynamic -- and men are frequently coming in and out of it," said Janice Lipsky, U.S. team leader for Viagra, at Pfizer(PFE Quote).