Cialis sales skyrocket
By Eric Fetters
Herald Writer
BOTHELL -- Cialis, the locally developed rival drug to Viagra, has become the fastest-growing erectile dysfunction treatment in the U.S. market.
Figures released Tuesday by Cialis' developers, ICOS Corp. of Bothell and Eli Lilly & Co., show Cialis captured 18 percent of new prescriptions, compared with about 15 percent for Levitra for the week ending March 12.
Cialis was introduced in this country four months ago, while Levitra came on the market in August.
"I can't imagine anyone would be less than pleased with the numbers," said Paul Latta, an analyst who tracks ICOS at McAdams Wright Ragen in Seattle.
ICOS executives said they were encouraged by the early success.
"It did happen significantly faster than we expected," said Leonard Blum, ICOS senior vice president for sales and marketing. "If you look at the rate of uptake for new drugs in our industry, Cialis is one of the most successful launches ever."
Cialis is nibbling into the market share held by Viagra, although that well-known drug still dominates the sector.
While Cialis leads Levitra in new prescriptions, Levitra is slightly ahead in overall market share, with 10.5 percent compared with 9.7 percent for Cialis. Viagra still holds nearly 80 percent of the total prescriptions in the erectile dysfunction market.
Overseas, Cialis' share of the market is up to 40 percent in Australia, according to data from IMS Health. The drug's market share is just under 30 percent in Germany and Italy, and 25 percent in Brazil.
ICOS pointed to a recently published study sponsored by Lilly and ICOS that showed 73 percent of men who were given both Cialis and Viagra preferred Cialis.
Preliminary results of an independent study in Europe that included all three competing drugs found 44 percent preferred Cialis compared with 32 percent for Levitra and 14 percent for Viagra.
"This is a very strong demonstration that men prefer Cialis and their experiences on the drug," Blum said.
While all three of the leading drugs work similarly in the body, Cialis has touted the fact it can work up to 36 hours after the pill is taken.
Cialis' growing market share hasn't come without a cost.
ICOS and Lilly will spend millions of dollars this year on TV commercials and the sponsorship of professional golf tournaments. In Europe, where direct-to-consumer TV ads are not allowed, Cialis has sponsored music concerts.
Blum said ICOS and Lilly will continue the ads and sponsorship, as well as some new marketing activities, to build awareness of Cialis.
"We're going to keep developing new things in order to reach a broader group of men," he said. "We have new initiatives in development to keep it fresh and spontaneous."
Levitra, sold by Bayer AG and GlaxoSmithKline, also has been aggressive in its marketing campaign. The drug is an official sponsor of the National Football League, and Mike Ditka, a former NFL player and coach, is Levitra's spokesman. Pfizer, the maker of Viagra, is tuning up a new ad campaign as well.
At Marysville Family Medicine, Dr. Harold Clark said the vast majority of patients who ask about treatment for impotence specifically mention Viagra. But he added that more patients seem to have heard of Cialis than Levitra, despite its prominent ads.
Latta said if Cialis continues to gain new patients at the rate seen in recent months, the drug should hold 20 percent of the erectile dysfunction drug market well before the end of this year. But it will take longer than that to determine if the drug will be a true blockbuster like Viagra, which recorded sales of close to $2 billion last year.
"If you look over the next two to three years, then you'll find out who the winner is," he said.
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