The Science of Viagra that Doctors Won’t Tell You.

As a drug chemist and drug hunter, I was fascinated how drug works and what was the story behind the discovery.

Viagra is one fascinating drug.

The discovery of Viagra’s (sildenafil’s) effect on erectile dysfunction was somewhat serendipitous.

Initially, Pfizer was developing the drug as a treatment for angina (chest pain related to heart disease) and hypertension (high blood pressure).

Sildenafil was designed to dilate blood vessels and improve blood flow, which was expected to benefit these cardiovascular conditions.

However, during clinical trials, many participants reported an unexpected side effect — improved erections. Although the drug did not perform as well as hoped for treating angina, these anecdotal reports of erections indicated its potential for treating erectile dysfunction (ED).

This unexpected discovery led Pfizer to pivot and further investigate sildenafil’s use for ED, which ultimately became its primary and highly successful application.

The success in treating erectile dysfunction, rather than cardiovascular issues, was a turning point that led to Viagra becoming the first oral medication approved for ED in 1998.