Tadalafil: An oral selective phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor for treatment of erectile dysfunction (PDF)

Tadalafil (Cialis) was recently deemed approvable for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED). When approved, it will join the widely used PDE5 inhibitor sildenafil citrate as an oral therapy for ED management. Among tadalafil?s characteristics are its rapid onset of action, a duration of action of up to 24 hours, and lack of food influence on the drug?s pharmacokinetics. In this Focus article, the pharmacologic, pharmacokinetic, and therapeutic aspects of tadalafil are reviewed and compared, when possible, with sildenafil and another investigational agent, vardenafil.