>>OFF TOPIC >> Viagra
Viagra potency pill is a hit with US women too
04:09 p.m Apr 28, 1998 Eastern
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Praised as a miracle drug for men, Viagra, the
first pill for impotence, is also finding a market among women, doctors
and analysts said Tuesday.
Nearly 150,000 prescriptions have been written for the drug since it
went on the market in the United States this month. Many men with sexual
problems say it has offered them a new lease on life.
But doctors and pharmacists say they are getting plenty of queries from
women as well -- and many are not asking on behalf of their partners.
''A lot of women are interested,'' said Dr. Myron Murdoch, a urologist
in Greenbelt, Maryland, who is national medical director for the
Impotence Institute of America.
''If you think there's a big demand for male sexual dysfunction
medicine, wait until women find out they can have some sort of sexual
dysfunction medicine.''
In commercial terms, Pfizer's drug is already a blockbuster. During its
second week on the market, pharmacists sold more than 113,000 new
prescriptions for Viagra, known generically as sildenafil.
Hemant Shah, an independent drug analyst in New Jersey, said much of the
demand was being driven by women.
''They (pharmacists) are telling me they can't keep it in stock and that
both men and women are using it,'' he said.
Viagra is not approved for women. It was tested only in men and is
designed to act as an ''arousal enhancer,'' getting blood to the penis
to help a man get an erection.
''We get a lot of inquiries as to women. This is absolutely
inappropriate,'' said Dr. James Barada, a urologist in Albany, New York,
who helped draw up erectile dysfunction guidelines for the American
Urological Association (AUA). ''It's so far off-label that it's
pathetic.''
But once a drug is approved, there is little to stop a doctor from
writing an ''off-label'' or unapproved prescription for a woman, though
Viagra's makers stress there is as yet no evidence of any good reason to
do so.
''This is a drug that has been approved for erectile dysfunction, which
is obviously for men, and there is no scientific data to support its use
in women,'' said Pfizer spokeswoman Mariann Caprino.
Pfizer does have Phase II clinical safety tests underway in Europe in a
group of women and some doctors see no reason not to prescribe the drug
to women.
Murdoch said the vagina and clitoris were made of the same tissue as the
penis and a drug that improved blood flow in men would do the same in
women.
''Physiologically ... the clitoris is nothing more than a penis without
a urethra,'' he said. The urethra carries urine and sperm in men.
''The drugs we are using for male sexual dysfunction, these drugs will
be effective in causing increased blood flow in the vagina and in the
clitoris, so that women who have lack of lubrication, we can improve
that.''
Murdoch said doctors could use drugs, including Viagra, to help women
who were worried about losing interest in sex.
''Women who have arousal problems, we can stimulate that. The male
hormone testosterone can improve desire in women.''
That could help relationships in general, he said. ''If you can do all
this, it certainly should lead to an improvement in sexual relationships
between men and women.''
Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited. |
