One of the inventors of Viagra, who originally hails from Perthshire, is set to launch a treatment for premature ejaculation.
Professor Mike Wyllie who still has a family home in Luncarty, was one of a team of scientists who developed Viagra and is now keen to promote the spray-on medication, Tempe.
Tempe has been judged safe and effective by the European Medicines Agency and is expected to be available by private prescription next year. Premature ejaculation is a problem that affects at least one in four men.
In trials, the spray was claimed to be beneficial.
Dr Wyllie, formerly of Pfizer and now of small British biotech firm Plethora Solutions, said: “Premature ejaculation doesn’t just make the patient feel bad, it does affect the partner and can completely destroy relationships. I feel this could save relationships.”
The Tempe spray contains low doses of two anaesthetics and is claimed to only take around five minutes to work.
A pocket-sized can is estimated to last a year and it is hoped Tempe’s preliminary approval for sale is rubber stamped by the European Commission in the next few weeks.
Tempe will only be available on private prescription initially but it is hoped it will be judged cheap enough in the long-run to be prescribed to some men on the NHS.
With sales of Viagra worth £1.3 billion a year, the new drug has the potential to be a blockbuster.
Dr Wyllie, who attended Redgorton Primary School and Perth Academy, will not receive any royalties from the sales and only has a very small holding in Plethora Solutions.
He added that he was motivated by scientific curiosity and that the launch will be a triumph for a small British company.
John Dean, a past president of the International Society for Sexual Medicine, said: “Whilst premature ejaculation is not a life-threatening condition, its consequences can be serious.
“This is a chronic, debilitating problem, affecting both men and their partners.”