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More than ten years after Pfizer (PFE) brought Viagra to market and brought erectile dysfunction out of the closet a new survey says a lot of men are still too embarrassed to talk about impotence with their doctors.

The study, paid for by Clialis-maker Eli Lilly (LLY), shows nearly 40 percent of men have never broached the subject with their physician, even though 82 percent of men know ED could be a symptom of serious health problems.

You can read all sorts of other fun factoid findings of the survey here. LLY claims it interviewed the 300 men who are at least 45 years old "to further understand men's current beliefs about ED and DE treatment options, as well as the perceptions men have about communicating with their healthcare professional about ED."

Yeah, uh-huh, sure.

I'm guessin' they knew I couldn't resist blogging about ED.

Lilly has turned Cialis--the pill that lasts in your system for a day-and-a-half--into a blockbuster. And it recently launched a one-a-day version of the drug. Pfizer sold nearly half-a-billion dollars worth of Viagra in the first quarter of this year. GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Schering-Plough (SGP), and Bayer share Levitra which is an also-ran, me-too ED drug. But I do know one new Levitra convert. A certain co-worker, who will remain unnamed, recently told me he spent more than 300 bucks to fill a Levitra prescription his neighbor wrote for him. Mr. Anonymous said he'd grown frustrated with his primary care physician who would only write him tiny, apparently insufficient, prescriptions for Viagra.

I also wonder what, if any, impact General Motors' (GM) decision to cut healthcare benefits for retirees could have on ED drug sales, especially if other companies follow GM's lead.

We'll get a read on more recent impotence pill sales when big pharma starts reporting earnings next week.

Mike Huckman

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This article has 2 comments:

  •  
    Jul 18 06:13 AM
    Yes its true, instead of treating the issue mens keep it numb and faces the after math consequences.
  •  
    Jul 19 10:47 AM
    Mr. Huckman may be correct with regards to the difficulties men face when trying to discuss Erectile Disfunction with their physicians, but he hasn't done his homework regarding the clinical attributes of the three ED products. Cialis & Levitra are clinically far superior to Viagra (efficacy,side effect profile,restrictions) and Levitra is anything but " a also-ran, me-too ED drug." Keep pushing that Lilly stock Mr. Huckman!!

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