Viagra Could Face New Competitor

Viagra, the reigning impotence treatment, may have competition in Uprima, an alternative drug for treatment of impotence, which won key backing from a Food and Drug Administration committee, despite concerns about dangerous side effects.

The FDA will now consider the recommendation of the agency committee, approved by a 9-3 vote. The federal panel found Uprima tablets helped men gain strong enough erections for intercourse.

But the preliminary nod came with a caveat: Patients and their doctors, the panel said, should receive strong warnings about potential side effects including fainting, extreme drops in blood pressure, nausea and lightheadedness. Some physicians warned of deaths among patients if Uprima wins full FDA approval.

Uprima maker TAP Pharmaceuticals said it would provide a much-needed alternative to the oral pill Viagra, which can cause deadly interactions among men taking nitrate-based heart drugs. By contrast, Uprima, a pill dissolved under the tongue, appears to work by increasing brain levels of dopamine, a neurochemical that sends messages between cells in a part of the brain researchers believe helps cause erections.

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