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Sildenafil oral suspension formulation for erectile dysfunction: is it love at first sight?

International Journal of Impotence Research (2025)Cite this article

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Erectile dysfunction (ED) affects about 50% of men over 40, with 26% of new cases occurring in men under 40 [1,2,3]. ED can significantly impact self-esteem, sexual well-being, and relationships, ultimately lowering overall quality of life [4]. Additionally, ED serves as an early indicator of undiagnosed or future cardiovascular issues, making its detection and management crucial for men’s overall health [5,6,7]. Phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE5i) are among the first-line treatment options for ED in clinical practice. Several PDE5i are available (sildenafil, tadalafil, vardenafil, avanafil), each with distinct pharmacokinetic properties and side effect profiles, along with different formulations (film-coated, oro-dispersible film) and a wide range of dosages [6], allowing for a tailored treatment strategy. Nonetheless, most men with ED discontinue therapy within the first year due to medical and psychosocial factors (e.g., cost, relationship issues, concerns about loss of spontaneity in intercourse) [8]. Therefore, developing new PDE5i formulations that align with patients’ needs and expectations is crucial for improving treatment adherence and ultimately the couple’s sexual life.

A new sildenafil oral suspension formulation (OSF) has been introduced and assessed in Spain [9].

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Data availability

Data are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy

    Luca Boeri

  2. Urology Unit, Di Venere Hospital, 70100, Bari, Italy

    Fabrizio Palumbo

  3. Department of Urology, Santa Chiara Regional and Teaching Hospital, 38123, Trento, Italy

    Tommaso Cai

  4. Department of Urology, University of Bari, 70100, Bari, Italy

    Carlos Miacola

  5. Department of Urology, University of Turin, Le Molinette Hospital, 10024, Turin, Italy

    Carlo Ceruti

  6. Urology Unit, ASL Roma 2, Sandro Pertini Hospital, 00100, Rome, Italy

    Marco Bitelli

  7. Department of Urology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy

    Danilo Di Trapani

  8. Operative Unit of Urology, Hospital ‘Villa Sofia-Cervello’, Piazzetta Salerno, Palermo, Italy

    Emilio Italiano

  9. Andrology Unit, CEMS, 37100, Verona, Italy

    Giorgio Piubello

  10. Department of Urology, Asti Hospital, Asti, Italy

    Chiara Polito

  11. Department of Urology, University of Naples, Federico II, 80013, Naples, Italy

    Alessandro Palmieri

Authors
  1. Luca Boeri
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  2. Fabrizio Palumbo
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  6. Marco Bitelli
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  7. Danilo Di Trapani
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  8. Emilio Italiano
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  9. Giorgio Piubello
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  11. Alessandro Palmieri
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Contributions

LB wrote the paper, FP, TC, CM, CC, MB, DDT, EI, GP, CP, AP supervised the paper, approved the final version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Luca Boeri.

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Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

All methods were performed in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations. A consent statement was placed at the beginning of the survey. Each respondent indicated their agreement to participate by completing and submitting the questionnaire. Ethics approval was not needed for several reasons: the survey was conducted anonymously, the survey was completed by physicians and it does not contain patient’s data.

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Boeri, L., Palumbo, F., Cai, T. et al. Sildenafil oral suspension formulation for erectile dysfunction: is it love at first sight?. Int J Impot Res (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41443-025-01016-7

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