Watch Out, Viagra: FDA Approves a Fast-Acting Erectile Dysfunction Drug

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Last Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvedStendra, the first new drug in a decade to treat erectile dysfunction.

Stendra, the brand name for avanafil, is sold by Vivus Inc. and willcompete with other erectile-dysfunction drugs currently on the market: Pfizers Viagra, Eli Lillys Cialis and GlaxoSmithKline and Bayers Levitra. Like its competitors, Stendra is among a class of drugs called phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors, which work by increasing blood flow to the penis.

Based on clinical trials, Stendra may kick in faster than its counterparts possibly in as little as 15 minutes. This is potentially the fastest acting of the four, Dr. Wayne Hellstrom, a professor of urology at Tulane University School of Medicine, in New Orleans, told Reuters.

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In clinical trials, 77% of men with general erectile dysfunction were able to get erections after taking Stendra, compared with 54% of men taking a placebo. Intercourse was successful for 57% of the men on Stendra, compared with 27% of men on the placebo, WebMD reports.

This approval expands the available treatment options to men experiencing erectile dysfunction, and enables patients, in consultation with their doctor, to choose the most appropriate treatment for their needs, Dr. Victoria Kusiak, the deputy director of the Office of Drug Evaluation III in the FDAs Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in an agency statement.

An estimated30 million American men are affected by erectile dysfunction.

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Watch Out, Viagra: FDA Approves a Fast-Acting Erectile Dysfunction Drug