Lilly, Icos plan 1-a-day Cialis pill
Lower-dosage version could hit market in 2007
By Jeff Swiatek
Get ready for a once-a-day impotence pill -- and the possibly racy ads that might be used to promote it.
Eli Lilly and Co. and Icos Corp. aim to sell a once-daily dosage of their jointly marketed erectile dysfunction drug Cialis as early as next year.
The daily pill would provide men a "good-to-go" alternative to their impotence problems, unlike current "on-demand" pills, which are taken in anticipation of sex, Icos executives said in a teleconference Thursday.
Cialis, an almond-shaped yellow pill that hit the U.S. market in 2003, competes with Viagra and Levitra in the growing erectile dysfunction market, worth more than $3 billion in annual worldwide sales. Neither Viagra nor Levitra is sold in once-daily doses.
The products have been promoted to consumers with suggestive prime-time ads. Cialis advertisements have featured a man and woman in side-by-side bathtubs. TV commercials for Viagra, sold by Pfizer, featured a man with devilish horns on his head.
The pills all work the same way, by blocking an enzyme in erectile tissue and allowing men to get and maintain an erection.
The one-a-day Cialis contains one-half to one-fourth as much active ingredient as in the "on-demand" pills and would sell for less. But officials of Icos, which held a teleconference with stock analysts to announce the coming of the once-daily version, wouldn't say how much less.
PharmacyChecker.com lists a wide range of retail prices for Cialis. It sells for $11 to more than $20 per pill at pharmacies in the U.S., Canada, India, Mexico and New Zealand.
Dr. Dan Salvas, a sexual medicine specialist for Urology of Indiana, said he thinks once-daily Cialis would be useful for "a select group of people who are very sexually active." But for most of his patients, he said, "They don't have sex often enough to warrant it, to be honest with you. This is really a recreational drug."
Cialis' revenues to Lilly could rank it among its 10 top-selling drugs within two years if sales grow as expected.
Cialis racked up worldwide sales last year of $747 million, a 35 percent jump from 2004. Icos projects sales this year of $900 million. The once-daily pill alone could reach annual sales of $200 million to $250 million by 2010, Icos said.
Lilly and Icos share equally in any financial gains from their Cialis joint venture, which generated profits last year for the first time. Cialis' profits this year should run about $240 million, Icos said.
Marketing approval to sell the once-daily version has been sought in Europe and will be filed for later this year in the United States, said Icos, which developed Cialis and is based in Bothell, Wash.
Tests of the once-daily Cialis on more than 850 men with erectile problems found no greater frequency of side effects than from on-demand use of the regular Cialis, Icos said. The most common side effects were headaches and upset stomach.
Indianapolis-based Lilly and Icos also are studying Cialis for hypertension. Lilly spokesman Phil Belt said Lilly had no comment on plans for a once-daily Cialis.
Icos' stock price Thursday jumped $1.47 a share, to $21.59. Lilly, a much larger company whose overall sales aren't impacted as much by the coming of one new product, saw a 5-cent jump in its stock price, to $51.76.
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