Effectiveness and Safety of Oro-Dispersible Sildenafil in a New Film Formulation for the Treatment of Erectile Dysfunction: Comparison Between Sildenafil 100-mg Film-Coated Tablet and 75-mg Oro-Dispersible Film

A new oro-dispersible film (ODF) formulation of sildenafil has been developed for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED) to overcome the drawbacks that some patients experience when taking the conventional film-coated tablet (FCT).

To assess the effectiveness and safety of sildenafil ODF formulation in patients with ED who were using the conventional FCT.

From May 2017 through July 2017, 139 patients with ED were enrolled. Data from penile color-duplex ultrasound, medical history, hormonal evaluation, and patient self-administered questionnaires were collected. All patients were administered sildenafil 100-mg FCT for 4 weeks. Thereafter, they underwent a 2-week washout period and subsequently took sildenafil 75-mg ODF for 4 weeks.

The International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-15), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Patient Global Impressions of Improvement (PGI-I), and Clinician Global Impressions of Improvement (CGI-I) questionnaires were administered and severity of ED was classified as severe (IIEF-15 score ≤ 10), moderate (IIEF-15 score 11-16), or mild (IIEF-15 score = 17-25).

All patients completed the final protocol. Differences in mean IIEF scores for erectile function, orgasmic function, sexual desire, and intercourse satisfaction were significantly in favor of sildenafil 100-mg FCT, whereas the mean score for overall satisfaction was in favor of sildenafil 75-mg ODF. A significant difference in changes in HADS score was found from washout to final follow-up (mean difference = -0.19; P < .01). For the ODF formulation, the median CGI-I score was 3.5 (interquartile range [IQR] = 2.5-4.5) and the median PGI-I score was 3.0 (IQR = 2.0-4.0). The median action time was 20.0 minutes (IQR = 15.0-30.0) and the median mouth time was 60.0 seconds (IQR = 30.0-120.0).

The ODF formulation of a widely known drug, with the same safety and effectiveness of the FCT, was better appreciated by patients in overall satisfaction.

This is the first clinical trial to assess the efficacy of a new formulation of sildenafil in patients with ED. The limitations of the study are related to the methodology used: it was not a case-control study and the patients were not drug-naïve for ED treatment. Therefore, only the "additional" side effects of the ODF formulation compared with FCT are reported.

The new ODF formulation is as efficient and safe as the FCT formulation and offers a new choice of treatment to specialists for more precisely tailored therapy. Cocci A, Capece M, Cito G, et al. Effectiveness and Safety of Oro-Dispersible Sildenafil in a New Film Formulation for the Treatment of Erectile Dysfunction: Comparison Between Sildenafil 100-mg Film-Coated Tablet and 75-mg Oro-Dispersible Film. J Sex Med 2017;X:XXX-XXX.

The journal of sexual medicine. 2017 Nov 16 [Epub ahead of print]

Andrea Cocci, Marco Capece, Gianmartin Cito, Giorgio Ivan Russo, Marco Falcone, Massimiliano Timpano, Michele Rizzo, Pier Andrea Della Camera, Simone Morselli, Riccardo Campi, Francesco Sessa, Giovanni Cacciamani, Andrea Minervini, Mauro Gacci, Vincenzo Mirone, Girolamo Morelli, Nicola Mondaini, Gaia Polloni, Sergio Serni, Alessandro Natali

Department of Urology, Careggi Hospital, University of Florence, Florence, Italy., Department of Urology, University of Naples, Naples, Italy., Department of Urology, Careggi Hospital, University of Florence, Florence, Italy. Electronic address: ., Department of Urology, University of Catania, Catania, Italy., Department of Urology, Molinette Hospital, University of Turin, Turin, Italy., Department of Urology, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy., Department of Urology, University of Verona, Verona, Italy., Department of Urology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy., Department of Urology, Santa Maria Annunciata Hospital, Florence, Italy., Psychosexologist, Como, Italy.