First Ever Drug to Stop Premature Ejaculation

A spray touted as the first potential treatment for premature ejaculation (PE) has proved effective in a second study, according to the company that developed it.

Background

Premature ejaculation affects about one-third of US men aged 18 to 59, which means it's twice as common as erectile dysfunction. No prescription treatments are approved in the United States to treat PE.

The Study

PSD502—which combines the drugs lidocaine and prilocaine-is sprayed on the head of the penis before intercourse.

The study of men in Canada, Poland and the United States found that those treated with the spray five minutes before intercourse were able to delay ejaculation up to five times longer than those who used a placebo. In addition, men who used the spray and their partners reported improved sexual satisfaction.

The findings, presented recently at the annual meeting of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America, are consistent with those from a previous trial in Europe, according to San Diego-based Sciele Pharma Inc.

"Premature ejaculation can have a powerful negative impact on the emotional and sexual lives of men and their partners," said Stanley E. Althof, PhD, of the Center for Marital and Sexual Health of South Florida. "Recently, the international sexual health community agreed that PE should be defined as ejaculation occurring within approximately one minute of penetration that causes the patient distress. Now we need to work to develop treatments, and these encouraging results with PSD502 seem to be a step in the right direction."

Sciele Pharma plans to seek US Food and Drug Administration approval of the spray.