$1 billion Cialis closing on Viagra
pharmafile | September 6, 2005 | News story | Sales and Marketing |
Erectile dysfunction drug Cialis has achieved cumulative sales of $1 billion and is closing the gap on Pfizer's market leader Viagra – but continued growth in the market is not assured.
Launched just over two years ago, Cialis has been a remarkable success story for co-marketers Eli Lilly and Icos, mounting a strong challenge to Viagra, the world's best-known prescription brand.
Second quarter sales of Cialis totalled $190.9 million – just over half the sales of Viagra in the same period and still a long way from reaching its rival's blockbuster status by earning over $1 billion in 12 months.
But Cialis overhauled Viagra for the first time in January this year when it became market leader in France and Lilly and Icos said the gap is closing in a number of other key global markets.
Global sales of Viagra were at a virtual standstill in the second quarter, growing just 1% internationally and falling 13% in the all-important US market.
Lilly and Icos saw sales of Cialis increase 39% globally, and by a similar margin in the US, but will want the market to keep growing rather than simply seizing existing prescriptions from Pfizer.
Icos chairman and chief executive Paul Clark said the brand was now established worldwide and the strategic plan was to gain market share for Cialis.
He added that in every major market Cialis was also outperforming Levitra, the third PDE5 inhibitor drug, marketed by Bayer and GlaxoSmithKline.
Cialis has benefited from a strong marketing push behind its claims that the drug can work for 36 hours and within 30 minutes of being taken.
Cialis also enjoyed the third biggest direct to consumer budget in 2004, with $176 million being spent on promoting the brand to older men in the US, in conjunction with promoting overall awareness of the condition.
The competitors in the market are dependent on encouraging more men to visit their doctors for the first time to ask for help with their erection problems.
They also face a problem with a large proportion of men failing to repeat their prescriptions – unrealistic expectations and lack of education are often cited as two of the leading reasons for this.
Growth in the US market could be threatened by new plans in the House of Representatives to exclude the drugs from new Medicare and Medicaid insurance schemes, which would provide the drug free of charge from 2006.
Under existing insurance schemes most US patients have to pay for ED drugs themselves, reinforcing the need for sustained DTC brand promotion.
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