FDA hopes to free up impotence pill sales

       Men with a doctor's prescription will soon be able to buy impotence drugs such as Viagra at certified chemists.
       Food and Drug Administration secretary-general Pipat Yingseree yesterday said regulations were being drawn up to allow the drugs to be sold by certified pharmacists.
       He said the men would need to consult a doctor and receive a medical prescription for the medicines.
       The FDA had monitored the use of the brand-name impotence drugs Viagra, Cialis, Elonza, Levitra and Tonafil for almost 10 years and felt the safety level of the products was up to scratch.
       Dr Pipat believed offering the drugs with a prescription at certified pharmacies would help solve the problem of fake erectile dysfunction drugs being sold over the internet.
       But Niyada Kiatyingungsulee, from Chulalongkorn University's faculty of pharmaceutical science, asked whether the FDA move was simply to enable the manufacturers to sell more of their products.
       The FDA had studied widespread sales of erectile dysfunction drugs under a research project funded by a major drug maker.
       "Enabling the drugs to be sold at pharmacies is not the right way to fight impotence drugs being made widely available over the internet," Ms Niyada said. "The FDA is not solving the problem the right way."
       The impotence drugs to date have only been legally available for purchase at hospitals after a prescription was issued by a doctor.
       Ms Niyada, who oversees Chulalongkorn's social pharmacy research unit, was concerned about the side-effects of the drug when used with other medicines for treating chronic illnesses such as heart disease.
       The plan to allow pharmacies to sell the drugs will be put before the FDA's drug panel for approval next month.