Levitra and Cialis, Two Strong Rivals for Viagra


Viagra, the groundbreaking erectile dysfunction drug developed by Pfizer in 1998, now has a new rival—Levitra. On August 20, it was reported that Levitra has won the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval.

Levitra, co-developed by Bayer Pharmaceuticals and GlaxoSmithKline, takes effect a bit quicker than Viagra -- in less than 20 minutes for some men. Also, it keeps acting for about five hours, compared with Viagra's four hours, the company says. The new pill is now available in the U.S. pharmacists.

Cialis, another erectile dysfunction drug in the pipeline, is expected to get FDA approval later this year. Cialis takes effect in 30 minutes or less, and its effects last about 36 hours. Also, its effectiveness is not affected by food, which has been a problem with Viagra, says Cialis maker Eli Lilly and Company.

Levitra has been studied in more than 50 clinical trials involving 5,700 men. In Europe, it has been available since March 2003, and has shown to be effective and safe in treating erectile dysfunction.

Like Viagra, Levitra acts by relaxing muscles and blood vessels in the penis, allowing increased blood flow into the penis, which produces an erection.

With Levitra, onset of action occurs within 16 minutes for some men, between 30 to 60 minutes for others. Viagra starts acting 45 to 90 minutes after taking the pill.

For difficult-to-treat men who have diabetes and or have had prostate surgery, both Levitra and Viagra work equally well in solving erectile dysfunction, they added. However, like Viagra, Levitra is not advised for men taking nitrate drugs (such as nitroglycerin tablets or patches) or alpha-blockers (drugs used to treat benign prostate hyperplasia and/or high blood pressure).

Cialis takes effect in 16 to 30 minutes, and stays active in the body for about 36 hours.

More than 50% of men over age 40 will experience erectile dysfunction at some time.

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Khorsheed.com – Sep 2003