Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
CHICAGO, Jan 23, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- U.S. sales of impotence pills is falling short of Wall Street expectations, despite massive TV advertising campaigns aimed at younger men.
Sales of Viagra, Levitra and Cialis totaled an estimated $1.2 billion last year, roughly the same as in 2003, raising questions about whether drugmakers overestimated demand for new treatments for erectile dysfunction, the Chicago Tribune reported Sunday.
"We are seeing everything flat-line out right now," said Dr. Christopher Gonzalez, assistant professor of urology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. "And it's not like consumers don't know these drugs are out there."
Doctors say younger men may not need or want such treatments and that men in their 50s, 60s and 70s who might be candidates are taking other medications that preclude use of the ED pills or suffer from health problems that do not allow the pills to work.
Nowhere near the 30 million to 35 million American men doctors once predicted needed some pharmaceutical help in the bedroom are taking pills. One company estimates 1.2 million to 1.4 million men are filling prescriptions each month.
The number of free drug samples dispensed by doctors' offices has risen sharply, which could mean that drug companies are desperate to market their drugs. Some experts suggest that the market has been flooded with so many free samples that companies have thwarted sales growth.
Copyright 2005 by United Press International.
