Viagra competitor available in Gulf

Viagra has a new-found competitor in Uprima, which promises to act faster and with fewer adverse effects.

Professor Jeremy Heaton, a Canadian urologist, announced here yesterday that the new pill, left to melt under the tongue, is equipped with a specific mechanism of action that goes through the brain to enhance the normal pathways of erection.

"Yes, Viagra has found a major competitor," Heaton told 'Gulf News' on the sidelines of the Arab Health 2002 exhibition-cum-conference at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

"Uprima is only the second oral drug of its kind in the market that treats erectile dysfunction (ED)."

Uprima, approved by the health authorities for distribution in the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain recently, is a centrally-acting oral therapy that was approved by the European Commission in June last year.

Unlike Viagra, Uprima does not work directly on the circulatory system but works as a dopamine receptor, Heaton explained.

The World Health Organisation impotence as a public health problem as it reportedly affects more than 150 million men worldwide. It affects an estimated 13 million men in Europe alone.

Neither Heaton nor the officials of Uprima manufacturer Abbott Laboratories cited specific figures for the Middle East or the Arab world.

But according to Heaton, 50 per cent of men over the age of 50 experience erectile dysfunction on certain occasions associated with advancing age, high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure and diabetes, among others.

This phenomenon, he stressed, tends to be true across the world, although in some cultures, men are too shy to admit they are experiencing it.

Mohammed Istarabadi, urologist at Al Zahra Hospital, explainedthat the tablet melts in just seven minutes, lasts up to three hours and can be used up to three times daily.

"The low dosage (3 mg) was safe for most patients, while being effective. In clinical trials, the most commonly reported side effects were nausea, dizziness and headaches, which were generally mild and transient," said Istarabadi.

A 3-mg pill will be priced at Dh40 per pill (also available in 2-mg dosage), according to Ibrahim Iqbal, Abbott general manager for the Gulf Region.

Chicago-based Abbott Laboratories is one of the 50 or so American companies participating in the annual Arab Health exhibition, according to Nancy Charles-Parker, U.S. Counsellor for Commercial Affairs in Abu Dhabi.

Arab Health 2002 is the Gulf's leading hospital, medical equipment and services exhibition and seminar.