Expected to be the biggest rival to Viagra, MED2002, an impotency gel being jointly developed by Futura Medical and GlaxoSmithKline, goes into clinical trials. Like Viagra, MED2002's main ingredient is a vasodilator: glyceryl trinitrate, or GTN that has been conventionally used to treat angina. And like other erectile dysfunction drugs, the gel works in treating impotency by causing dilation of the arteries and increased blood flow.

A total of 1500 men have been recruited to participate in three trials, and depending on the efficacy and safety data, the firms expect the gel to be ready for regulatory approval by 2008 and out in the market within three years. If successful, MED2002 would be the world's first non-prescription pharmaceutical treatment for men with ED. According to the Times Online report, executives expect the gel to be priced at the level of other over-the-counter medicines.

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