Cialis Overtakes Viagra as Most Popular ED Drug
For years, Viagra was the only prescription drug for treating erectile dysfunction. Then, men got Levitra - a pill which was so similar to Viagra that many men didn't see the point of switching over. Not long after Levitra was released in 2003, the drug Cialis (Tadalafil) hit the market. Cialis had two major edges over both Viagra and Levitra: it gets benefits for up to 36 hours and can be taken as a once-daily pill.
When Viagra came out, it made a huge change in the way we looked at men's health. Suddenly, medical professionals became aware of just how common ED really is. But it wasn't until Cialis came out that we realized ED is also a major problem amongst younger men too. As many as 5% of men in their 40s have ED - which is much higher than previously thought. Thanks to Cialis, younger men finally had an ED treatment which suited their lifestyle. They could take one pill and enjoy healthy sexual relations for 36 hours (hence, the nickname for Cialis "the weekend pill") or take a pill once daily and always be ready for a sexual encounter.
Ever since Cialis came out, it has been steadily taking over Viagra as the ED drug of choice. In 2011, Cialis finally overtook Viagra with sales of nearly $2 billion. Lilly, the company which makes Cialis, is confident that their ED drug will remain the most popular - even with the treat of cheap generic drugs flooding the market.
In 2012, Viagra loses its patent rights and generic companies will be able to make their own Sildenafil for treating ED. As we know from past experience, competition drives down the price of a drug. Pfizer is already prepared to drop the price of Viagra to under $10 - which is nearly half the current cost at some pharmacies - in order to compete with the generic Viagra pills. Cialis isn't going to lose its patent rights for several more years but it stands to reason that they will lose a lot of business because of the generic Viagra. Even though Cialis has advantages over Viagra like its 36-hour effectiveness, many men will probably choose to save money and go with cheap generic Viagra instead.
The makers of both Viagra and Levitra have already come out with some marketing tactics to keep customers from going to generics. Viagra released a chewable form of their pill called "Viagra Jet" and Levitra has a dissolvable version sold under the name Staxyn. Unless the price is competitive, it is unlikely that these marketing gimmicks will keep men from going generic. Lilly has not come out with any new gimmicky versions of Cialis and says that it has no plans to. After all, it is already making great sales and has advantages with which the cheap generic ED drugs won't be able to compete.
