Health
Competition Gunning for Viagra
Viagra: The anti-impotence drug is effective, popular and the "designer drug" of the day -- all reasons for the manufacturer, Pfizer Inc., to look to its guns.
Competitors are stomping their feet in the wings. Rivals including BioTechnology General, Icos Corp., TAP Holdings, Pentech Pharmaceuticals, Zonagen, Eli Lilly & Co. and Bristol-Myers Squibb, are all considering the profits to be made from an easy-to-use drug that battles erectile dysfunction.
Zonagen, based in Texas, seems to have the lead. It has developed Vasomax, an impotence treatment the manufacturer says would work quicker than Viagra. It hopes to have the drug approved by year's end.
But Pfizer also is scrambling to come up with a "new and improved" version of Viagra -- one that eliminates some side effects such as headaches and non-use indications for those taking certain heart medications. The company also is testing Viagra in Europe to determine the drug's effectiveness in battling sexual dysfunction in women.
Competitors are stomping their feet in the wings. Rivals including BioTechnology General, Icos Corp., TAP Holdings, Pentech Pharmaceuticals, Zonagen, Eli Lilly & Co. and Bristol-Myers Squibb, are all considering the profits to be made from an easy-to-use drug that battles erectile dysfunction.
Zonagen, based in Texas, seems to have the lead. It has developed Vasomax, an impotence treatment the manufacturer says would work quicker than Viagra. It hopes to have the drug approved by year's end.
But Pfizer also is scrambling to come up with a "new and improved" version of Viagra -- one that eliminates some side effects such as headaches and non-use indications for those taking certain heart medications. The company also is testing Viagra in Europe to determine the drug's effectiveness in battling sexual dysfunction in women.
