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Lilly Icos impotence drug gains ground in Europe
January 30, 2004
CIALIS, the impotence drug known as “le
weekend” in France for its 36-hour
staying power, has grabbed market share in Europe
from rivals Viagra and Levitra, according to
new figures released by its manufacturer.
Lilly Icos — a 50-50 joint venture between
Eli Lilly,
the US drug company, and Icos, the US biotech
group — said yesterday that in November
Cialis had captured 35 per cent of the market
in France, 30 per cent in Germany, 27 per cent
in Italy and 16 per cent in the UK and Spain.
The figures, taken from IMS Health data, were
based on pharmacy purchases from wholesalers.
The announcement comes as Lilly Icos gears
up for an assault on the US market in a move
to steal market share from Viagra,
the blue pill produced by Pfizer that has become
a household name since its launch nearly six
years ago.
Both Lilly Icos and GlaxoSmithKline, the UK
pharmaceutical giant that makes Levitra, will
spend millions of dollars to advertise during
Super Bowl XXXVIII, the American football final,
on Saturday. It will be the first time that
impotency drugs have been advertised during
Super Bowl.
Cialis will air a 60-second commercial aimed
at informing people what the drug treats and
how it is used, something that neither Levitra
nor Viagra has done in TV adverts. Levitra,
which GSK markets jointly with Bayer, plans
a 30-second spot. Advertisers are believed to
be spending a record $2.3 million per 30 seconds
advertising time.
Lilly Icos said yesterday that Cialis had US
sales of $27.9 million in the fourth quarter
to December 31, although the drug was not approved
for launch in the US until November 21. GSK
and Bayer launched Levitra in the US last August.
The UK group said yesterday that its share of
Levitra sales in the first two months of its
launch had been about £20 million.
News of Cialis’ sales came as Lilly Icos
reported widening net losses of $174.7 million
for the year to December, against a $131.3 million
loss last year.
source:-http://www.timesonline.co.uk
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