25 years after Viagra: why the pill is said to have been born “accidentally”

On a day like today, exactly 25 years ago, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of Viagra, the most popular drug for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.

On March 27, 1998, Pfizer was able to start thinking about the commercialization in that same year of the famous blue pill which had been patented in 1996 and which would eventually revolutionize the sex lives of thousands of people.

He “sildenafil citrate”, as Viagra (its trade name) is actually called, is the first oral remedy to be approved for the treatment of erectile dysfunction in the United States.

The success was total: in the first weeks on the market, the pills were prescribed to some 40,000 men. The annual sales of Viagra in 1999-2001 have been exceeded billions of dollars.

An accident?

Viagra was not originally created to combat erectile dysfunction..

The drug was thought up in 1989 by scientists Peter Dunn AND Albert Wood to treat high blood pressure and angina, chest pain caused by reduced blood flow to the heart. In 1991, the same year a British patent was filed for Viagra as a heart medicine, the team was joined by Dr Nicholas Terrett.

The first clinical trials for the development of sildenafil as a treatment for angina pectoris, in which the drug was administered to healthy volunteers, began in 1991. The results were disastrous and Pfizer was nearing completion of the project.

But the side effects surprised the researchers: some of the volunteers complained of impaired color perception, headaches and penile erection.

Two years later, the first clinical trials for the drug development of sildenafil as a treatment for erectile dysfunction were planned and, after demonstrating its efficacy in 21 independent studies, in 1998 the FDA and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) they approved its use.

This is why it is often said that medicine was discovered by accident. But Terrett, he told Vice, before its first medical trial he believed there was a possibility that the drug could fight the dysfunction.

Pfizer scientists found that the mechanism that activates blood flow to the heart muscles “was quite widespread throughout the body … and if we could find a drug that interacted with the mechanism’s target, we might be able to treat respiratory diseases.” , gastric disease… and erectile dysfunction.”

This is worth clarifying It is not recommended to take Viagra if the patient is taking any medications called nitrates, often prescribed for chest pain, or guanylate cyclase stimulators such as Plus (riociguat) for pulmonary hypertension. Your blood pressure could drop to a dangerous level. Or if the patient is allergic to sildenafil.

Moreover, You should check your health status with your doctor. to make sure you are healthy enough to have sex. If you experience chest pain, dizziness, or nausea during sexual activity, see a doctor.