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Biotech / Medical : VVUS: VIVUS INC. (NASDAQ) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: MissLil who wrote (4367)	1/6/1998 10:10:00 PM
From: biffpincus	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 23519

From Dud to Stud Good News About Impotence Treatments.... That is the headline on the front cover of this month's Penthouse Magazine. On page "102" they have an article called "The Penis Page". It is an overview of ED. Generally, it is a laudatory article.... but VVUS comes under some scrutiny. Below is an edited version of the article as it relates to MUSE. "But three companies, Pfizer, Zonagen, and Vivus, are now bringing to market drugs that show real promise of alleviating many forms of impotence. Not only are they proving effective, but they are much easier to use. One is a pellet, the other two are pills. The Vivus pellet is called MUSE, for medicated urethral system for erection." Using a plastic "applicator", you push a tiny pellet containing a drug called alprostadil, which was developed to enhance blood flow in infants, about an inch into your urethra. Once there, the pellet releases the medication, which stimulates blood flow locally to the penis, making it more available for John Thomas when needed. While the treatment is effective and approved for use by the F.D.A., there are side effects. Twenty-nine percent of MUSE users have reported some penile pain, and a number have experienced dizziness and urethral bleeding. But many consider the risk of these side effects a worthwile trade-off for achieving a working erection." XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Forgive me for asking, being new and long to VVUS, are those percentage figures correct and what do people know about the urethral bleeding issue? thx., biff

To: MissLil who wrote (4367)	1/6/1998 11:20:00 PM
From: Cacaito	Respond to of 23519

MissLil, viagra is not proven in women, it is only some type of ideas floating. The actual oral dilivery to women erectyle organs is probably the same as men, the mechanisms of dysfuntion in women are very different. Erection is not strictly necessary for sexual pleasure (not even for men, since men can has climax without erection). Not claiming expertise in neither. Zonagen actually is talking about some Vasomaxine, some female version of the same Vasomax (phentolamine), they even said in the conference call that the did some preliminary study, I doubt any of the Zonagen studies, no data is out. Very little research in women, how much organic ED, how much psychogenic ED (women has erectile tissue but the function is not exactly like men, any study will need to be very much tailor to this population). PGE1 the active drug in Muse, is probably more difficult to deliver to women. Urethral will be of no use and only harm. Oral PGE1 not feasible due to quick local metabolism for all prostaglandins, a huge dose will be needed and probably patient will die first. The MCHM system could make sense for women (not proven in men yet, only very preliminary Public Relations talk, not even numbers out)cause they claim a transcutaneous or transmucosal delivery. The logistics of this type of therapy is probably more complex in women.