Bayer says to make rival to Viagra
FRANKFURT, May 31 (Reuters) - German drug maker Bayer AG (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: BAYG.F) said on Wednesday it plans to introduce an anti-impotence pill for men in
two years time which could take on U.S. competitor Pfizer's (NYSE:PFE - news) lucrative Viagra treatment.
Bayer, best known for inventing aspirin, said it planned to sell its treatment for erectile dysfunction worldwide from mid-2002. Several companies across the Atlantic are also striving to develop a rival alternative to Viagra.
Bayer said it expected to generate as much as 900 million euros ($838 million) in revenues a year from the drug. The
compound used in the Bayer pill, which is in clinical trials, is called Vardenafil and is taken by mouth to improve blood flow.
``If we develop this (commercially) we will sell it world-wide,'' a Bayer spokeswoman said. The Leverkusen-based group was conducting tests to see if the drug had side-effects, she added.
VIAGRA SUCCESS
Pfizer, the second-biggest drug maker in the United States, has enjoyed blockbuster success with its diamond-shaped blue
Viagra pill. It has become one of the world's fastest selling drugs and a cultural icon since it hit the market two years ago.
Last year alone Pfizer rang up more than $1 billion in Viagra sales.
Although more men than ever are seeking to revive their sex lives with medical treatment, Viagra does not work for everybody and comes with its own potentially dangerous side effect.
Viagra can cause a deadly drop in blood pressure if used by men taking heart drugs know as nitrates.
In the United States demand for treatment had helped to drive up Pfizer's sales.
With treatment in high demand rivals are getting ready to challenge Viagra. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to decide in July whether Illinois-based TAP Pharmaceuticals' new Uprima pill can go on sale.
TAP is a joint venture between Illinois-based Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - news) and Japan's Takeda Pharmaceuticals .
Both Schering-Plough Corp's (NYSE:SGP - news) and Zonagen Inc's (NasdaqNM:ZONA - news) Vasomax treatment and ICOS Corp (NasdaqNM:ICOS - news) and Eli Lilly and Co's (NYSE:LLY - news) IC-351 are also in tests.
Although a study published in the British Medical Journal last month said Viagra was cost-effective and should be more widely available on prescription, Britain and other countries have rationed the distribution of the pill.
Bayer, which is involved in chemicals, healthcare and agrochemicals, said it has not yet established what it would charge for its anti-impotence treatment.
($1 equals 1.074 Euro)
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