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Vivus Viagra!

Published: Wednesday, 18 Nov 2009 | 12:07 PM ET

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By: Mike Huckman
CNBC Correspondent

Vivus is one of the three little biopharma companies in the final stage of developing a diet pill. But it's not just trying to help people lose weight, it's also helping men gain erections. There was a less elegant to say that, but I stopped myself.

VVUS this morning unveiled positive late-stage test results on the ED pill. The company touts that it takes effect in less than 30 minutes and it's out of your system within six hours or so.

CEO Leland Wilson told Reuters, "Patients want to have sex sooner rather than later." LOL. Do you think all of the patients' partners would agree with his statement?

For example, not to make light of a tragedy, but the company also revealed that there was one death in the clinical trial from a gunshot wound. "Clearly not related to the study drug," Dr. Chuck Bowden, Vivus' Senior Director of Clinical Development, said on the call. Well, depends on what the circumstances were. I mean, if the virile guy suddenly wanted to have sex on the spot all the time maybe his partner had enough. Perhaps a poor attempt at humor on my part, but I'm kidding.

And in an unintentionally funny choice of words, Dr. Bowden also said on the call, "It's hard to imagine how the results could've been much better."

Pfizer's Viagra [PFE Loading... () ] could go generic in a few years and at least a couple of analysts are expressing doubts about Vivus' ability to compete against a drastically cheaper, albeit possibly somewhat inferior, ED pill.

If all goes according to plan, though, Vivus' [VVUS Loading... () ] drug could be on the market by 2011 or 2012.

With Viagra expected to go generic around that time, maybe Pfizer, which certainly knows how to sell an impotence drug, might do a partnership deal with Vivus.

PFE's drug pipeline could use a little pfluffing.

Questions? Comments? and follow me on Twitter at mhuckman