Pharmaceutical Business review

Lilly Icos’ Cialis overtakes Viagra in France

The market share of Cialis in France has grown consistently since the product was introduced in Europe in February 2003. Since December 2004, Cialis has secured an additional 6.4 percentage points of the total share of tablets from wholesalers to pharmacies, to gain the largest share of sales in the French market.

“The success of Cialis in France is an exciting milestone for the brand and for Lilly Icos, especially because we joined the market after the leader was so well established,” said Leonard Blum, Icos vice president of sales and marketing. “The key benefit of Cialis – the up-to-36 hours that Cialis gives a man and his partner to choose the moment for intimacy that’s right for them – is the reason we have always said Cialis would succeed in the erectile dysfunction (ED) marketplace.”

This milestone follows the product’s success in the US where, despite being the third product to enter the competitive ED market, Cialis secured the second largest share of the market just four months after its launch.