Pfizer to Sell Penis-Straightening Drug
Pfizer, the maker of Viagra, has struck a deal to sell Xiaflex, a drug that cures curvature of the penis due to a buildup of collagen in the organ’s shaft. There’s just one drawback to Xiaflex — it’s administered by injection. This site and this site both suggest that the site for the injection needs to be the penis itself, a sure drawback to sales.
Curvature of the penis, called Peyronie’s disease, is caused by a buildup of fibrous plaque in the penis. It affects 1 - 4 percent of men. It can cause painful erections, leading to patients withdrawing from sex and becoming depressed. It is most commonly seen in males over 40. You can read a recent study on the drug here and a test of the drug in rat tails — I kid you not — here.
BNET’s take: Pfizer is spending only $75 million on this deal, which suggests that sales of the drug will be low, due to the small number of patients and their probable resistance to needle-based treatments. So why bother with the deal? Because patients with the condition also suffer from depression and erection problems, and Pfizer has a much bigger franchise in those categories, with Viagra and Zoloft. (Zoloft still sells $135 million per quarter).
Marketing Xiaflex — with branded or unbranded ads — will be a good way for Pfizer to drive men to the doctor who are depressed or who have erectile dysfunction of one sort or another, benefitting all three franchises. It’s a triple threat for Pfizer because the relevant demo — men over 40 — is a target for all three drugs.
Image by Flickr user elsie.esq, CC.
UPDATE: The FDA in April 2008 granted Xiaflex priority review for a different condition, Dupuytren’s contracture. Ckick here for more.
Jim Edwards, a former managing editor of Adweek, has covered drug marketing at Brandweek for four years, and is a former Knight-Bagehot fellow at Columbia University's business and journalism schools. Follow him on Twitter or send him an email.
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