Good Test Results Reported on Impotence Drug Cialis
A new male impotence drug has shown promising results in testing, which could set up a competition with blockbuster Viagra at the end of 2002 -- and kick off a search to find a more winning poster child for erectile dysfunction than Bob Dole.
Results of a new, late-stage test released today showed that 85% of men taking 20 milligrams of the experimental drug Cialis reported improved erections. Further studies show that men reported the ability to achieve erections for up to 24 hours after taking Cialis.
Cialis is being developed under a joint venture between biotech firm
ICOS
(ICOS)
and pharmaceutical giant
Eli Lilly & Co.
(LLY) - Get Report
. If approved, the drug will compete against the current erectile dysfunction bestseller Viagra, marketed since 1998 by
Pfizer
(PFE) - Get Report
.
ICOS and Lilly are expected to push Cialis into the drug approval pipeline at the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
before the end of the year, aiming for approval in the latter half of 2002. The new Cialis results were released Friday morning at the
American Urological Association
annual meeting.
Erectile dysfunction affects an estimated 152 million men, and is caused by physical conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. Viagra sales worldwide totaled $1.3 billion in 2000.
In order for Cialis to gain FDA approval and attract new patients, ICOS and Lilly have been pushing studies that show that the drug works faster and longer than Viagra, and with fewer side effects.
At the American Urological Association meeting this weekend, the companies are reporting that in a late-stage test of 196 men suffering from mild to severe erectile dysfunction, 85% reported improved erections and 78% of attempts at sexual intercourse were successful while taking 20 milligrams of Cialis.
The companies also reported similar results with patients taking smaller doses of Cialis. Other late-stage studies showed that Cialis works faster and for a longer period than Viagra. For instance, men who take Cialis could start having sex after 30 minutes to 45 minutes, while Viagra takers typically wait 60 minutes for the drug to kick in.
"Based on what we've seen, Cialis is going to get approved, and that sets up a huge marketing war between Lilly and Pfizer," says John McCamant, editor of the
Medical Technology Stock Letter
. "Lilly just has to find a spokesman for Cialis who is better than
Viagra's Bob Dole, but that shouldn't be a problem." McCamant is long ICOS and has no position in Lilly or Pfizer.
If Cialis is approved, ICOS and Lilly will share sales revenue equally. Shares in ICOS were up 32 cents to $62.67 in Friday trading. Shares in Lilly were up $1.79, or 2%, to $86.49.