IMPOTENCY DRUG MARKET: Cialis to
challenge Viagra as the ED drug of choice
April 20, 2004
Eli Lilly predicts Cialis,
a drug for treating erectile dysfunction
(ED), could soon top market leader Viagra
in Asia. "We [Cialis] have a 30 to
40 per cent market share for oral ED
treatment in Asia, but are lagging behind
Viagra, which has a 55 to 60 per cent share
of the regional market," said Antonio
Alas, head of marketing for Eli Lilly &
Co's intercontinental division.
He said that Cialis has been approved in
more than 55 countries. The drug has been
approved by the Thai FDA and will be available
locally by the end of this month.
Cialis will be launched in China in the
third quarter of next year and the company
expects the drug to be given approval for
sale in Japanese in 2007.
Cialis planned an aggressive marketing
campaign in Asia in a bid to topple Viagra
as the leading ED drug in the region, Alas
said.
Singapore became Cialis' first Asian market
last year.
Cialis has 42-per-cent share of the Singapore
market, while Viagra holds 41 per cent.
Levitra, another impotence drug, has a 17-per-cent
market share.
Cialis held a 37-per-cent share in the
Malaysian market at the beginning of this
year.
Viagra, meanwhile, has captured a 63-per-cent
share of the Malaysian market.
The pill lags behind Viagra, which has
a 64-per-cent share , in Taiwan market,
while Levitra holds a 12 per cent.
Cialis was launched in South Korea last
September and has since captured a 42 per
cent share of the ED market.
Viagra has a 46 per cent in the South Korean
market, followed by Levitra, which has 12
per cent.
Since it was launched in Australia early
last year in Australia, Cialis has built
up a 40-per-cent share, trailing behind
Viagra with 52 per cent. Levitra has 8-per-cent
share of the Australian ED market.
"Cialis is widening the choice for
ED patients, giving them an alternative
to Viagra, which has dominated the market
for more than 5 years," Alas said."The
drug provides an extended period of effectiveness,"
he said. "We believe it will be the
market leader soon."
He said the use of oral ED
treatments - so-called "PDE5 inhibitors"
- grew by 30 per cent last year, and are
expected to grow by a similar amount this
year, reaching US$2 billion (Bt78.5 million)
by the end of 2004.
About five per cent of the worldwide sales
for Cialis are in Asia.
Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn
THE NATION
source:-http://nationmultimedia.com/
