Findings from a large-scale, multinational male health survey of over 27,000 men indicate that current treatment options for erectile dysfunction (ED) fall short of men''s expectations. This is especially important because the number of men with ED worldwide is expected to more than double to 322 million men over the next 20 years.

Findings from the global survey which was conducted from February to April 2001, suggest that men who have sought treatment for ED and have tried other therapies are not completely satisfied. As shown below:

* Only a quarter of men (24 percent) who have ever tried Caverject (a type of injectable therapy) reported being "very satisfied" with the treatment.

* Less than one in five men (18 percent) who had penile implants reported being "very satisfied."

* More than one third (35 percent) of men who have tried the currently available oral ED treatment reported that they were not satisfied. Of those males who tried the currently available oral ED treatment, nearly half (46 percent) discontinued use.

* Key reasons that men gave to explain their dissatisfaction were;
-The product "did not work at all" (34 percent)
-Their "erection was not hard enough" (34 percent)
-The product "only worked occasionally" (22 percent)

"These numbers confirm what I see in my own practice," said Ian Eardley, Consultant Urologist and Senior Clinical Lecturer at St. James''s University Hospital in Leeds, England, and a collaborator on the MALES survey. "Some men are not satisfied with current therapies. What they want in a new treatment for ED is for the product to work reliably every time, be safe and have few side effects."

The survey, entitled Men''s Attitudes on Life Events and Sexuality (MALES), was conducted by Strategic Marketing Corporation and IMW-KOLN from February to April 2001 in two separate phases. In phase I of the survey, representative samples of 27,838 men age 20 to 75 years in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Mexico and Brazil were selected using random digit calling and the Internet. Men who reported having erection difficulties were recruited for phase II of the survey, along with additional men who were recruited on the street and in doctors'' offices. The total number of men included in phase II was 3,289 men. The survey was initiated by Bayer and supported by GlaxoSmithKline.