Can a lifestyle drug also be a life-saving drug?

An announcement last week by the Pfizer Company, who makes Viagra, says they are hopeful the drug can treat a rare disease.

The same drugs that are helping save mens’ sex lives may also help save the lives of women.

Viagra and Cialis combat erectile dysfunction by increasing blood flow throughout the body. In people who have a rare disorder called pulmonary arterial hypertension, that can be a lifesaver.

PAH, which strikes mostly women in the prime of their lives, elevates the blood pressure in the artery between the heart and lungs and is often fatal within three years of the onset of symptoms.

Dr. Robyn Barst with the Columbia University Medical Center, explains, “They may faint. They may have chest pain.”

For people with pulmonary arterial hypertension, just walking down the street can be a chore, making them short of breath. Still, most just chalk it up to being out of shape. In fact, experts say it takes most doctors as long as two years to make an accurate diagnosis.

Dr. Barst says, “As physicians, we really don’t know why someone has the pulmonary hypertension. So we really don’t know the exact cause.”

Dr. Barst, who’s been studying the disease for 25 years, says more tests are needed, but she’s already convinced that Viagra is a safe way to treat PAH, “I think it works. I think it would be beneficial for us to have this as one of the one drugs in our therapeutic armamentarium to treat patients with.”

It would be one drug, but not the only drug. Medical experts and analysts believe that Viagra might be used in combination with a drug in late state development at Encysive Pharmaceuticals. It’s a one-a-day pill called Thelin, short for endothelin, the hormone that’s believed to constrict blood vessels and is found at high levels in PAH patients.

Encysive has also tested Thelin with Viagra on two dozen patients to make sure there’s no dangerous interaction.

Encysive CEO Bruce Given reports, “That’s the most important first step. To show that there’s really not a meaningful drug interaction.”

Swiss biotech Actelion already has a pill for PAH on the market called Tracleer, but it can cause liver damage and birth defects. Dr. Barst says Thelin may be safer and more effective, “There are a number of patients that if you have problems with liver toxicity with Tracleer, you don’t necessarily have that problem with Thelin.”

Dr. Barst who receives consulting fees from nearly every company that makes or is working on a PAH drug says she’s talking to Icos about testing its new ED drug Cialis on her patients.

She suspects it might work better than Viagra since it’s longer lasting. Encysive, which is a client of S.G. Cowen, is expected to release the first data on its two-pronged pivotal phase three clinical trial of Thelin by the end of this year and hopes to file for FDA approval next spring.