| Introduction
The erectile dysfunction market grew 3.5% from 2005 to be worth $1.95 billion in 2005 and is almost entirely composed of sales from three brands: Viagra (sildenafil), Cialis (tadalafil) and Levitra (vardenafil). Despite the dominance of these products, several opportunities exist for a successful market entry.
Scope
- Patient potential, unmet needs and epidemiological trends in erectile dysfunction
- Pipeline overview including key company players, product profiles, and pipeline issues
- Case study analysis of market leaving brands: Pfizer's Viagra; ICOS-Lilly's Cialis; and Bayer/Schering-Plough/GlaxoSmithKline's Levitra
- Analysis of the future direction of the market as supported by the views of interviewed key international opinion leaders
Highlights
PDE-5 inhibitors will remain the mainstay of ED treatment, having an excellent efficacy and safety profile. New PDE-5 inhibitors need a unique clinical advantage to compete with the established products. Udenafil goes some way to achieve this, offering a rapid onset of action and a favorable half-life, but is unlikely to surpass market leaders.
An estimated 30% of the ED patient population is refractory to PDE-5 inhibitors and this represents a considerable target market for manufactures of novel products. In terms of new mechanisms of action, opinion leaders are unconvinced by what is in the current pipeline. They are encouraged, however, by the new drug delivery methods in development.
Developing treatments for niche patient subgroups provides an opportunity to minimize competition with established therapies. Diabetes-related ED, prostatectomy patients and cardiovascular disease may be commercially viable groups. This chronic treatment of ED may require once-daily dosing and hence represents an avenue for companies to explore. | 
