Female Viagra drug Flibanserin on the cusp of FDA approval

Since Pfizer’s male impotence wonder drug Viagra first burst onto the scene an incredible 17 years ago, it was subsequently joined by Eli Lily’s Cialis and Bayer’s Levitra by 2003.

Over the next 12 years the industry has witnessed variations on these such as the lower-strength Cialis Daily tablets for the more ‘active’ male and Levitra orodispersible tablets – especially suitable for men who aren’t comfortable with swallowing pills, wanting to take it with some discretion and without the requirement of a glass of water.

Men also have the options of the newer erectile dysfunction treatment Spedra (Avanafil) or Vitaros cream – ideal for men that have not experienced success with the aforementioned PDE5 inhibitor tablets or cannot take PDE5s for medical reasons.

If all that wasn’t enough choice, men suffering with premature ejaculation have over-the-counter premature ejaculation treatments such as Stud 100 Spray, condoms containing benzocaine like Durex Performa (to prolong climax), whilst there is also prescription medication such as Priligy, which is taken orally and works to prolong a man’s sexual performance by an average of 200% to 300%.
Simply put, men are spoilt for choice when it comes to finding the right treatment option for sexual dysfunction, whether this be for persistent impotence or premature ejaculation problems.

So, what is there for women? If Medical Specialists® Pharmacy were to quiz our thousands of patients to come up with the name of an existing female sexual dysfunction treatment, we’d be surprised if anyone could muster a reply.

In early 2014 Medical Specialists® reported how British pharmaceutical company ORLIBID were developing a drug tentatively titled ‘ORL101’, aimed at boosting a woman’s sex drive, however no further information has been released about ORL101 since then.

However, Medical Specialists® are delighted to announce that a new pill to boost a woman’s libido could be one step closer after US experts gave its endorsement. This will be fantastic news for those that have fought for women’s sex drives to get a similar medical attention to deal put into it as the male treatments.

A panel of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisers decided to vote 18-6 in favour of recommending flibanserin, a daily pill nicknamed the ‘female Viagra’ and manufactured by Sprout Pharmaceuticals, who picked up the drug back in 2011 after its initial developer, Boehringer Ingelheim, decided to drop it.

The vote came following a testimony from various women who vigorously persuaded the agency to approve the drug and told of their fear of never being able to have sex again. The final judgement of course will have to come from the FDA themselves, with a verdict on suitability for public use due later this year.

Coincidentally, flibanserin, just like the discovery of Viagra, was an unintended find. The drug was firstly developed with the intention of treating depression, but wasn’t as effective for this purpose as expected.

Many of the 11,000 women involved in the trials did note that they were experiencing some rather unexpected side effects from the flibanserin. Increased sexual interest and overall, more satisfying sexual experiences than previous, were being commonly reported.

North Carolina drug maker Sprout Pharmaceuticals, have claimed that their clinical trials have demonstrated that women have experienced a 37% rise in sexual desire in comparison to a placebo. The women reported an average of between 0.5 and one more sexually satisfying events each month, compared to those women taking a placebo. In addition, they had higher scores on questionnaires on desire and scored lower on questions about stress.

The drug – which changes brain chemistry as opposed to Viagra increasing blood flow – isn’t without a chequered history though, with the FDA twice rejecting the drug since 2010, arguing flibanserin’s benefits did not outweigh the risks, which can include low blood pressure and fainting spells.

However, Susan Scanlan, chairwoman of Even The Score, hit back and noted that Viagra can have varying side effects, arguing that the FDA hasn’t approved flibanserin because of their discomfort with women taking control over their sexuality. “The implication is that men can be trusted to make a rational decision of risk versus reward and women can’t,” she said.

The FDA has highlighted female sexual dysfunction as one of 20 priority areas of unmet medical need, and is obviously a major and genuine health problem that needs to be addressed.

Keep checking the Medical Specialists® NHS Pharmacy website for further updates about flibanserin or other female sexual dysfunction products that may become available in the future, and we already have an extension range of male impotence and premature ejaculation treatments, some of which were mentioned earlier.

Medical Specialists™ now offer exciting ‘second generation’ impotence treatment Spedra

Since the release of Pfizer’s Viagra way back in 1998, men across the globe suffering from the common condition known as erectile dysfunction (ED) have been spoilt for choice with regards to treatment options.

Sildenafil citrate – marketed as Viagra – was subsequently joined by Levitra (vardenafil) and Cialis (tadalafil), followed by variations such as the Cialis Daily tablets and Levitra ODT (Orodispersible). And now the ED market finally welcomes an exciting new addition to its vast array of treatments, in the form of Spedra (avanafil).

Spedra is available today from Medical Specialiasts™ Pharmacy, priced from as little as £23.17 for 4 x 50mg tablets. No prescription? No worry…Our in-house Doctors will write a prescription for you, which is then dispensed by our in-house Pharmacists, and sent to you within 24 hours.

Menarini, a private company headquartered in Florence, are manufacturers of Spedra and are touting the new treatment as the very first ‘second-generation’ medication for ED. This is due to the fact patients within the clinical trials did not report back to have experienced some of the side effects associated with the other PDE-5 inhibitors, i.e. blurred vision or slight hearing loss.

Spedra has been shown to have an impressive success rate of 77% and is rapidly becoming well known for being the quickest acting male impotence treatment there is. Those being prescribed it for the first time may find they start on 100mg, but there are also 50mg and 200mg doses of the drug. The maximum recommended dosing frequency is once per day. Like the other ED treatments, Spedra’s full effect is felt with prior sexual stimulation (foreplay) – just like you would engage in any way if you were not taking a medication for ED.

Taken orally, Spedra belongs in the same family of medicines as Viagra, Levitra and Cialis. Just like the existing ED drugs, Spedra belongs to a class of medicines known as PDE-5 (Phosphodiesterase type 5) inhibitors and is suitable for men who have trouble getting or sustaining an erection for sexual intercourse.

Whereas the existing treatments can take anywhere between 25 minutes to an hour to take effect, clinical trials have demonstrated the impressive prowess of Spedra, which kicks-in with firm erections after just 15 minutes, according to many of the men participating in trials. The new treatment will shave vital minutes off compared to its counterparts, ideal for more ‘spur of the moment’ love making.

Spedra has been shown to remain effective for between four and five hours, a time duration similar to that of Viagra. It should be noted that this does not mean you will have an erection for between four and five hours, but that you will have ability to achieve improved erections that duration. Like other ED treatments, Spedra may take longer to become effective if taken following a large meal.

Lloyds Pharmacy investigated for breaching advertising regulations

The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) have begun an investigation into Lloyds Pharmacy over suspicions they have been advertising prescription-only medicines.

The advertising in question that raised the concerns was a newspaper advert for a male impotence service offered by Lloyds Pharmacy. The ad was labelled “lost the perk-in your gherkin”, depicting an image of a drooping skyscraper, which left little to the imagination as to what the picture was meant to be.

Accompanying this was an offer for an erectile dysfunction pill that could be purchased online for £6, suggesting this was a low price to patients.

According to section 12.12 of the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing, prescription-only medicines and prescription-only medical treatments are forbidden from being advertised to the public.

The advert, currently being assessed by ASA’s Compliance team, was featured last month in London’s Evening Standard.

Pharmacist Cathryn Brown, spotted the advertisement and perhaps justifiably deemed it to be “essentially an advert for a prescription-only medicine”.

Speaking about her reasons for bringing the ad to the attention of the ASA, Ms Brown said: “It’s a valuable thing to highlight awareness that there are treatments available for erectile dysfunction and you don’t have to go to your GP. But advertising it on the basis of price per tablet doesn’t imply a professional service.”

What Ms Brown didn’t highlight is the fact the offer in the advertisement is perhaps not as impressive as first seems. When you take into account with Medical Specialists Pharmacy you can obtain Cialis Daily tablets (boxed in 28s) from as little as £2.92 each, or Sildenafil tablets from as little as £4.12 each (both obtainable following a doctor’s consultation and approval), maybe £6 per pill isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

The ASA replied to Ms Brown via an email last month, conceding the pharmacist had made a “valid point”, adding there was a “clear issue” with the fact the advert had broken advertising regulations. The ASA said in the email that the case is now in the hands of their advertising practice compliance team.

“The team will work to address the problem and ensure these ads, where they appear to advertise prescription-only medicines rather than the service generally, no longer appear,” the ASA said.

Promescent spray for premature ejaculation set to become a huge hit

A new over-the-counter spray for men suffering with premature ejaculation (PE) could be set to take the world by storm after becoming available in the North American market.

Promescent is the name for the spray which is being referred to as an ‘anti-Viagra’ and as a miracle cure for PE; a condition that can cause deep emotional distress for the male, yet is often ignored in comparison to erectile dysfunction whereby there are a vast array of treatment options such as Viagra, Cialis, Cialis Daily, Levitra, and more.

Absorption Pharmaceuticals are the brains behind the revolutionary topical PE spray, applied to the under-shaft of the penis just 10 minutes prior to sex and will also not transfer to the sexual partner’s vagina if it is washed off, according to Absorption, who give detail on their website what makes Promescent stand out from the crowd.

They say: “Promescent’s absorption technology, in conjunction with the metered-dose spray bottle, enables men to deliver a specific and reproducible amount of lidocaine through the stratum corneum of the penile skin to the dermis and control ejaculation latency. Promescent allows men to easily manage penile sensitivity in order to maintain optimum sexual satisfaction…”

As mentioned above, Promescent contains lidocaine; a topical anaesthesia and this is the same active ingredient as another hugely popular PE spray that is already available in the UK – Stud 100.

Depending on the dose and penis sensitivity, Promescent can last from anywhere ranging from 30 minutes to 1 hour. This should undoubtedly leave both man and woman very satisfied indeed.

The International Society for Sexual Medicine state that PE happens when a man reaches his peak and releases semen soon after penetration. This could be within a minute, but for some men it could be as soon as 15 seconds. For those with a skewed idea of what constitutes ‘premature’ due to a misleading concept of sex from the pornographic industry, it is worth bearing in mind that the average ejaculation time is between an estimated 4 to 8 minutes.

Dr. Ron Gilbert, leader of the research team that developed the spray, commented in an interview that the amount of spray used is quite variable. “One of the nice things about the medication is the dosage can be changed easily,” he said.

“With Promescent the FDA has approved 3 to 10 sprays so you’re able to very, very subtly change the effect, because if four sprays isn’t perfect you can go up to five or six. We hear from patients where this product has brought them from a situation where the bedroom is a place where there’s all this anxiety and disappointment – to where they feel really empowered.”

Jeff Abraham, CEO of Absorption Pharmaceuticals, speaking to CNBC, said: “How can these billion dollar companies in the ED space not come up with a product?”

Mr Abraham recently rejected a $30 million offer for his company on the belief that the market for premature ejaculation treatments could eclipse that of the one for erectile dysfunction treatments – meaning Absorption will be worth a whole lot more than $30 million!

If you are one of the many millions of men around the world who are having premature ejaculation problems, Medical Specialists Pharmacy are able to prescribe Priligy to suitable patients following an online consultation with one of our doctors. Priligy is an oral tablet taken prior to the sexual activity and acts quickly within 60 minutes, only taken when you need it. In addition, we offer Stud 100 spray, obtainable from our chemist shop. Stud 100 delays ejaculation by reducing the sensitivity of the penis, significantly prolonging intercourse and providing greater satisfaction for both partners.

Cialis daily could help men with ED return to normal erectile function

The results of a new study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine show that men with an ‘incomplete response’ to an as-needed PDE5 inhibitor treatment for impotence, achieved normal erectile function after taking a course of Cialis (Tadalafil) once daily treatment – via measurement on the erectile function domain of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-EF). This is a series of questions used as a measure for efficacy assessment in erectile dysfunction clinical trials, first developed in conjunction with the clinical trial program for sildenafil.

Cialis belongs to a class of drugs known as a ‘Phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) inhibitor’, first approved to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) and then for the signs and symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

“PDE5 inhibitors are highly effective for most men when taken as-needed, but responses can range from minimal change to a return to normal erectile function,” said Dr Edward D. Kim, MD, of the Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine and lead author of the study. “We believe the study outcome will help prescribers make better informed decisions when treating their patients.”

The study was a randomised, double-blind, parallel, placebo-controlled trial that encompassed 51 sites from the United States and Canada. Participants in the study were men 18-years-old or over who had taken an as-need PDE5 inhibitor at maximum dose and achieved some response to the treatment (IIEF-EF >/= 17), however had not managed to experience a normal erectile function (IIEF-EF <26 p="">
Researchers analysed the superiority of the Cialis daily treatment to that of a placebo in helping the men get back to a normal erectile function. There were a total of 623 subjects randomly assigned to receive Cialis as a once daily treatment, or given the ineffective placebo.

A primary objective of the study was to determine if a significantly greater percentage of the men returned to normal erectile function when given Cialis 2.5 titrated to 5 mg and 5 mg once daily, in comparison to a placebo.

Treatment with the Cialis daily in this matter met the primary objective with significantly higher percentages of men (38.7 percent and 39.6 percent, respectively) with IIEF-EF domain scores in the normal range (>/= 26) through 12 weeks versus the placebo (12.1 percent; both, p<.001).

By the fourth week of assessment, significantly higher percentages of men taking the Cialis 2.5 to 5 mg and 5 mg (33.5 percent and 41.1 percent, respectively) had successfully returned to normal erectile function (placebo, 8.5 percent; both, p<.001).

The study highlights the prowess of Cialis daily for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. Cialis vs Viagra  is a difficult choice for many, but it is worth bearing in mind that the lower strength versions of Cialis are particularly ideally for men in sexually active long-term relationships. Beneficial in that the mild dose will be in your body each day, it means you do not have to take a tablet each time you have sex. Your body should begin to adjust to the medication’s ingredients and resulting in very little side effects, if any.

ED drug Cialis gets European approval for benign prostatic hyperplasia

Struggling to think of a link between benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and erectile dysfunction (ED)? You might not be the only one. However, patients who are suffering with both of these conditions may soon be able to be treated through the male impotence wonder drug Cialis, which it seems, is emerging as having multiple uses.

The European Union’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has put forth their recommendations for the approval of the 5 mg daily dose of Cialis to treat the condition BPH that can result in prostate enlargement, a common condition that usually effects older men and leads to problems including; difficulty passing urine, a regular need to urinate, or finding it difficult to completely empty the bladder.

All that waits now is a final ruling from the European Commission, who approves medicinal use for the EU. It usually takes the European Commission about one to two months to decide on CHMP recommendations. All this follows a precedent set back in October 2011 when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave their seal of approval for Cialis 5 mg once daily use to be used to alleviate the signs and symptoms of BPH.

Cialis is currently used to help men suffering with ED in over 100 countries and has already been approved in many other countries around the globe for the additional purpose of helping BPH, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Columbia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Israel, Panama, Russia and South Korea. Therefore, it will surely only be a matter of time before patients can obtain Cialis Daily from Medical Specialists Pharmacy for benign prostatic hyperplasia in addition to treat erectile dysfunction. The best thing we would advise is to keep checking our website for more developments on this subject.

Anthony Beardsworth, senior medical director at Lilly, spoke on the exciting news and said, “The CHMP positive opinion for Cialis marks an important regulatory milestone for Eli Lilly and Co and our commitment to bringing new treatment options to the millions of men who experience ED and BPH.”

If you are a male suffering with urinary problems, then you may be one the 2.4 million men in the UK suffering from BPH. It could be some time yet until Cialis Daily is officially given the green light to fight such issues. In the meantime, urinary problems can be treated through the use of effective medication such as Flomax Relief, which eases the symptoms associated with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) of a BPH.

Flomax works by relaxing muscles in the prostate gland, relaxing the muscles in the urethra (the tube from the bladder to the outside of the body).  This lets urine pass more freely through the urethra, making it easier to urinate. It is available today from the Medical Specialists Pharmacy chemist shop, costing just £8.75 for 14 capsules, or £15.95 for 28.

Of course if you are a male suffering with erectile dysfunction and would like to know your options in regards to treatment, you may be wondering just what ‘Cialis Daily’ is. Firstly, it is a once-daily tablet supplied in two does; 2.5 mg and 5 mg, with 28 tablets to a pack. It is recommended to be taken at the same time each day for consistency and is suitable for men who are in sexually active long-term relationships. The major benefit is that the mild dose of Tadalafil (Cialis’ active ingredient) will be in your body each day, meaning you do not have to take a tablet each time you have sex. Cialis, Cialis Daily, Levitra, Levitra ODT and Viagra are all available today at great prices through Medical Specialists.

The Rise of Cialis

For many years Viagra has been the sole product for men who suffer erectile dysfunction, but another product own by eli lilly who make a drug called Cialis have been catching FAST! and now claim to have a 50% share in some countries.

So far Cialis have brought out four different dosages of there drug 2.5mg (Cialis daily), 5mg, 10mg & there strongest version 20mg.

All these drugs have been proven to work well for most men who suffer impotence, but the main bonus to Cialis over Viagra is that it lasts up to thirty six hours, which means you don't have to take it just before sex.

Cialis UK is also now one of the most type keywords in Google for prescription medication, and regular adverts on television on make its branding even more popular.