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Biotech / Medical : PFE (Pfizer) How high will it go? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jim Lamb who wrote (6704)	1/14/1999 9:21:00 PM
From: Mick Mørmøny	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9523

Viagra spray in development Scientists develop fast-acting nasal spray form of popular impotence drug January 14, 1999: 7:07 p.m. ET NEW YORK (Reuters) - A convenient nasal-spray form of Viagra that hits the spot within five minutes, up to 12 times faster than the average pill form of the anti-impotence drug, is on the drawing board. Anwar Hussein, a researcher at the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy, said he and colleague Lewis Dittert have developed a soluble version of Pfizer Inc's blockbuster drug and want to license it to the pharmaceuticals giant. "Sometimes patients taking Viagra are embarrassed because they wait an hour or longer and still there's no effect (erection), especially if they've taken the pill with meals," Hussein told Reuters. Frustrated patients then sometimes take another Viagra pill in hopes of speeding the effect, a double-dosing that creates the risk of adverse side effects, Hussein said. The scientists claim to have come up with a quicker and better way. "The key was to find how to make Viagra very water soluble so the dissolved drug can be used through the nose," Hussein said. They then tested nasal drops in rats, and "Voila! It took effect within five to ten minutes," said Hussein, who added that he and Dittert had patented their "secret" method of liquifying Viagra. Hussein said they hoped to persuade New York-based Pfizer to license their discovery and test it in humans. "Our version will be so quick and convenient to use and would definitely be more popular than the pills, which just take too long to work. "And it will minimize toxicity by eliminating the urge to double dose," he said. Scores of mostly older U.S. patients have died after taking Viagra, although there has been no proven link between the deaths and the drug. Pfizer spokeswoman Mariann Caprino said she was not sure whether the scientists had yet approached company executives with their proposal, or how it might be received. "I wouldn't speculate about the pros and cons of nasal delivery but clearly we are always interested in advancing our medicines," she said, declining further comment. Caprino said Pfizer had received no serious complaints from patients about Viagra's hour-long delay. "Many patients, in fact, think the time allows them to ease into an intimate setting, to set the scene."