A drugs company has launched a new medication that uses the ED drug Cialis – known medically as tadalafil – to combat pulmonary hypertension. The medication is called Adcirca and is being sold as a rival to Pzifer’s treatment Revatio, which uses Viagra to similar effect.
Pharmaceutical companies discovered a few years ago that the common erectile dysfunction medications had a secondary use as a pulmonary hypertension medication. Pfizer was the first to get its product on the market, and though it is not a massive money spinner for them, Revatio is one of the few medications they sell that has steadily increasing sales.
It is believed that Cialis may be more effective at treating pulmonary hypertension as it will be offered to patients in a single pill which will have the same effect as three doses of Revatio. There have also been suggestions that United Therapeutics will offer it at a lower price than patients and healthcare providers would pay for Revatio.
Industry pundits are now questioning whether Bayer will push on with a pulmonary hypertension product based on their own erectile dysfunction medication, Levitra, which has suffered from flagging sales in the U.S over the last couple of years. There have already been clinical trials that suggest that it too is effective in treating the condition.