Future Pill for Premature Ejaculation

A new tablet could hold the key for men who suffer premature ejaculation, reports Marina Murphy in Chemistry & Industry Magazine. Trials by a US company have shown the pill, compound LI 301, to have an effect on everyone tested. Trials suggest the drug starts working within two hours, so it could be taken on an as-needed basis.

Currently, there are no approved treatments for premature ejaculation. There is no definite date set for the release of LI 301 although some estimates suggest it could be available as soon as 2007. Other compounds being investigated for premature ejaculation are producing mixed results, but the new pill works in a different and unique way. It is thought that its success in trials is due to an analgesic effect that causes a dulling of sensation and a reduction in feeling. But, at the right dose, this does not affect orgasm and normal sexual function is retained.

‘People do not like the interference factor of creams and devices and are moving toward being able to take a pill,’ says Chris Every, CEO of Enhance Biotech, New York, the company developing the drug.

‘Anything that improves the sex lives of men and women has to be a good thing,’ says Jim Pollard, editor of Male Health, ‘But,’ he says, ‘this has to be balanced with the over-medication of the area. The secret to good sex is really communication between the two people involved.’