Pfizer has confirmed that the UK regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), has launched a public consultation on the reclassification of sildenafil 50mg to non-prescription, pharmacist-supplied (P) status for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.

Erectile dysfunction is a common, self-recognisable condition, and research has estimated that half of men between the ages of 40 and 70 may have some degree of erectile dysfunction.

Providing men who suffer from erectile dysfunction with an additional point of contact within the healthcare system could encourage them to seek advice and treatment, where they currently wait or don’t seek treatment at all.

Dr Berkeley Phillips, UK Medical Director, Pfizer Ltd, commented, ‘The availability of pharmacist-supplied, non-prescription sildenafil could offer men a new and additional way to access a legitimate, long-established, and well-studied treatment for erectile dysfunction.

‘This could have further benefits as the condition may be an early warning sign of a more serious underlying condition, such as heart disease, which may otherwise go undetected.’