(FORTUNE Magazine) – Bob Dole needs a new job. After being fired by Viagra for being too old, the first ambassador of erectile dysfunction may now be in luck: A barrage of new impotence treatments are expected to hit pharmacies in the next two years, and marketing will be central to their success.

If things look good for Dole, they look even better for the 30 million American men with erectile dysfunction (ED, in the industry vernacular). For the first time drugmakers are offering a wide range of alternatives to the little blue pill, everything from Viagra me-toos to nasal sprays. Sales of ED drugs are expected to more than double in the next two years, from roughly $2 billion in 2002 to more than $4 billion by 2004. Viagra's maker, Pfizer, currently owns about 90% of that market, but--as the rapper Mystikal might say--"Watch yourself." Of the 30 million men who have ED, only 1.7 million fill prescriptions regularly, according to Dr. William D. Steers at the University of Virginia. "These new drugs pose a big threat to Viagra," says Chrystyna Bedrij, who covers the ED market at Griffin Securities.

One of the most interesting--and as yet undiscovered--new treatments for ED is a topical cream from NexMed, a small biotech outfit in Robbinsville, N.J. NexMed will likely be the first cream ED treatment available by prescription in the pill-dominated marketplace. To some, the first ED topical cream may sound as appealing as the first ketchup Popsicle to hit the frozen-food section, but it could fill an important need: "This drug is for people who have tried Viagra, and it doesn't work," says Bedrij. Don't scoff: Severe cases make up 30% of the ED market, which leaves plenty of market for drugs that create, as Dr. Steers says, "an erection that is almost automatic."

NexMed's cream works (it's called Alprox-TD) by delivering the generic drug alprostadil in a tiny (0.1 ml), colorless, odorless drop with a disposable applicator. Alprostadil, you may remember, is the same mojo that was injected (yes, with a needle) into the nether regions of the first ED patients. To work, the cream must actually penetrate the tissue and enter the bloodstream (some doctors aren't convinced; the drug is currently in late stages of testing, and has yet to be reviewed by the FDA).

Leading the pack of more traditional treatments are two pills that will challenge Viagra. These me-too drugs are Vardenafil, from Bayer, and Cialis, from Icos-Lilly--both expected to be ready for widespread use sometime in 2002. Vardenafil appears the most promising: It works faster and longer than Viagra and has a better side-effect profile--Bayer says the drug will be the first ED pill that's safe for diabetes patients. Cialis has been touted as the "weekend drug" for its potential 24-hour effectiveness, as opposed to four hours for Viagra.

What all this means to you, of course, is loads of new sales pitches. For a breakdown of everything on the horizon, from Uprima (a European Union-approved drug that works on the brain) to Nastech (the company developing that nasal spray), see our table and rankings. Somehow we just couldn't get behind that nasal-spray concept. At least, you know, until Bob Dole does.