Viagra could soon be getting some very stiff competition.
Researchers in Australia claim to have developed a nasal spray to combat erectile dysfunction — and it could be rolled out to American consumers within two years.
The spray-to-play product reportedly works in as little as five minutes, meaning it could be a bedroom game-changer for the 30 million Americans who struggle to gain and maintain an erection.
“Our nasal delivery bypasses the digestive system, so it really goes straight into the bloodstream and has an effect in five to 15 minutes,” Lee Rodne, executive chairman of biotech company LTR Pharma, told The Australian on Monday.
“We expect it to be a lot more effective than oral tablets so that it works consistently and in a quicker and faster amount of time, so men don’t have to plan ahead and they don’t have variable results,” he enthusiastically added.
Viagra is one of the most popularly prescribed medications for erectile dysfunction; however, it usually takes between 30 to 60 minutes to kick in.
The new spray, dubbed SPONTAN, “repurposes” the PDE5 inhibitor Vardenafil, which is taken orally one to two hours before sexual activity.
PDE5 inhibitors are a group of medications commonly used to treat erectile dysfunction and include sildenafil (sold under the brand name Viagra) and tadalafil (sold as Cialis).
A clinical trial will soon begin in Australia to compare the results of SPONTAN against the results of a different PDE5 inhibitor that will be taken orally.
LTR Pharma has “very high confidence” that the results will be a success and say wants the product to hit the US market in 2025.
The Post has contacted the company for further comment.
Meanwhile, SPONTAN isn’t the only product that could soon be challenging Viagra.
Late last year, a saucy study found injections of Botox directly into the penis provide “a clear benefit” for men suffering from erectile dysfunction.