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Special Assignment: Can Cialis Deflate Viagra?

Eli Lilly's Erectile Dysfunction Medication Hits Market

POSTED: 3:47 pm EST February 9, 2004
UPDATED: 9:51 am EST February 10, 2004

Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly & Co. has high hopes for its new erectile dysfunction drug, Cialis.

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Europeans have been using the drug for more than two years, but Cialis is now available for the estimated 30 million American men who suffer from erectile dysfunction.

Eli Lilly is pushing the drug with a large national marketing campaign, including an ad during the Super Bowl. The hope is to topple the two other drugs on the market, Levitra and Viagra, RTV6's Kristi Tedesco reported.

"Virtually every day I'm in the office I'll see some patients who have known about the medication and have been waiting to try it," Indianapolis urologist, Dr. Peter Knapp, said.

Cialis user Robert Rozman says the drug has benefited his marriage.

"It looked to us, at one point, like we were never gonna have sex again," Rozman said.

Lilly officials claim there are many advantages to Cialis. It costs around $10 a pill -- a little more than Levitra but a little less than Viagra. But Lilly believes Cialis offers more for your money because the pill's effect takes longer to wear off, Tedesco reported.

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Do you think Eli Lilly's new erectile dysfunction drug, Cialis, will eventually overtake industry leader Viagra?

"Viagra has a window of 1 to 4 hours -- so you really have to plan, strictly in advance, when you believe the right moment will be for you. With Cialis, and 36 hours, you do not have that pressure. That is something we know is very appreciated by the patients," Eli Lilly's president of U.S. operations, Gino Santini, said.

Eli Lilly is spending more than $100 million in commercial advertisements to get the word out. They believe their approach will be more effective than their competitors, Tedesco reported.

"When you look at the other two advertisements, they're very sports driven ... action! Ours takes a look at the couple. It focuses on what they do," Lilly marketing executive director Khoso Baluch said. "Our hope is to be able to get them to go and ask about Cialis at their physician's office."

Cialis has been on the American market less than two months, and officials say it's already created a lot of interest. Company officials believe investors should take note.

"Cialis is just one of several drugs we have the opportunity to launch within a very short period of time," Santini said. " The whole package should provide confidence that Eli Lilly will continue to do well in the foreseeable future."

A call to several area pharmacies produced mixed responses as to whether Cialis has been selling well. Lilly officials say it will take time to notice big sales because doctors only started prescribing it in December, Tedesco reported.

A blockbuster drug is defined by sales of more than $1 billion a year worldwide, a target Lilly officials believe is within their grasp.


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