Viagra made its appearance on the market in 1998. Over the ensuing years, it has established an excellent name for itself as an erectile dysfunction medication that is safe and very effective.

Before this prescription erectile dysfunction (ED) medication emerged on the scene, the horizon was extremely bleak for people suffering from erection problems. There were medications, but none of them were as convenient to take. It was not until the synthesis of sildenafil, the active ingredient of Viagra, that men suffering from ED breathed a sigh of relief.

Pfizer’s research facility in Sandwich, Kent, England was the place where the synthesis of compound UK-92,480 (later known as Sildenafil) took place. The interesting fact about its synthesis is that the compound was being studied as a treatment option for hypertension and angina. After the first phase of its clinical trials in Morriston Hospital in Swansea, no effect was seen on the angina of the subject group but an effect was definitely seen on the penile erections of the subject group. This started the compound’s journey as a medication for treatment in ED. It culminated in March, 1998, when it became the first oral drug, approved by the FDA for the treatment of ED.

The first direct competition to Viagra emerged in 2003 in the form of Levitra and Cialis. But the medication is still going strong and continues to make a positive impact on the sexual life of men all over the world. So, a major part of the history of Viagra only revolves around its spiraling popularity and the tremendous change it has brought about to the lives of people suffering from ED.