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Bayer testing Viagra rival
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May 31, 2000: 1:08 p.m. ET
German pharmaceutical company plans male impotence treatment in late 2002
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - German pharmaceutical company Bayer AG said Wednesday it is developing a male impotence pill that could rival Pfizer Inc.'s blockbuster treatment Viagra.
Bayer, which makes over-the-counter staples such as aspirin and Alka-Seltzer, said it hopes to bring its erectile dysfunction medication to market by the end of 2002, a spokeswoman for the Leverkusen-based company told CNNfn.com. The experimental drug, which is based on a compound known as vardenafil, is in late-stage clinical trials.
Bayer is studying potential side effects of the drug, she said. Doctors have warned that some men taking Pfizer's Viagra in addition to heart drugs could sustain serious drops in blood pressure.
New York-based Pfizer (PFE: Research, Estimates) introduced Viagra in 1998, sending men around the world rushing to their doctors in hopes of revitalizing their sex lives with the little blue pills. The prescription-only treatment, which is available in about 90 countries, rang up about $1 billion in sales last year.
 Pfizer's success has encouraged a number of other drug makers to try to develop competing treatments, said Laurie Haber, vice president and pharmaceutical analyst at New Vernon Associates.
"If they (Bayer) can get any piece of that market it will probably be worth their while," she said. "Their drug is designed to be more specific, with potentially less side effects, so if it's an improvement then they should have a decent product."
Bayer said its proposed treatment could generate as much as  900 million ($838 million) in annual revenues at its peak. The company's biggest prescription drugs include the antibiotic Ciprobay and hypertension drug Adalat.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is weighing whether to approve Uprima, a male impotence pill developed by Illinois-based Abbott Laboratories (ABT: Research, Estimates) and Japan's Takeda Pharmaceuticals through a joint venture called TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc.
Also, Schering-Plough Corp. (SGP: Research, Estimates) and Zonagen Inc. (ZONA: Research, Estimates) are testing a proposed treatment called Vasomax. Eli Lilly and Co. (LLY: Research, Estimates), best known for its antidepressant Prozac, also is working on an impotence remedy. 
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