After ED, Drug Companies Target Next Sex Issue

After the success of drugs for erectiledysfunction (ED) such as Viagra andCialis, drug companies are tacklinganother men's health issue: prematureejaculation (PE). Several companies aretesting new medicines to address thiscomplaint of 15% to 30% of Americanmen, which is more common than ED.

One of these drugs, dapoxetine (Johnson& Johnson), has been under FDAreview since December 2004, and itcould soon become the first medicineapproved for this condition. A studyshowed that dapoxetine could help menwith the dysfunction delay orgasm. Thedrug has been submitted to the FDA aspart of phase 3, the final stage of the drugapproval process.

Experts have questioned whether ornot it is even necessary to treat PE withmedication, citing that, in the study, menon placebo were also able to improvetheir response time. But like ED, PE isbeing recognized as a legitimate medicaldiagnosis, and research is suggesting abiological, rather than psychological,basis for the condition.