Sildenafil Actavis

Sildenafil Actavis is a medicine that contains the active substance sildenafil. It is available as tablets (25, 50 and 100 mg).

Sildenafil Actavis is a ‘generic medicine’. This means that Sildenafil Actavis is similar to a ‘reference medicine’ already authorised in the European Union (EU) called Viagra.

Sildenafil Actavis is used to treat adult men with erectile dysfunction (sometimes called impotence), when they cannot get or keep a hard penis (erection) sufficient for satisfactory sexual activity. For Sildenafil Actavis to be effective, sexual stimulation is required.

The medicine can only be obtained with a prescription.

The recommended dose of Sildenafil Actavis is 50 mg taken as needed about one hour before sexual activity. If Sildenafil Actavis is taken with food, the onset of activity may be delayed compared with taking Sildenafil Actavis without food. The dose may be increased to a maximum of 100 mg or decreased to 25 mg depending on the effectiveness and side effects. Patients with liver problems or severe kidney problems should start treatment with the 25-mg dose. The maximum recommended dosing frequency is one tablet per day.

The active ingredient in Sildenafil Actavis, sildenafil, belongs to a group of medicines called phosphodiesterase-type-5 (PDE5) inhibitors. It works by blocking the phosphodiesterase enzyme, which normally breaks down a substance known as cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP). During normal sexual stimulation, cGMP is produced in the penis, where it causes the muscle in the spongy tissue of the penis (the corpora cavernosa) to relax. This allows blood to flow into the corpora, producing the erection. By blocking the breakdown of cGMP, Sildenafil Actavis restores erectile function. Sexual stimulation is still needed to produce an erection.

Because Sildenafil Actavis is a generic medicine, studies in people have been limited to tests to determine that it is bioequivalent to the reference medicine, Viagra. Two medicines are bioequivalent when they produce the same levels of the active substance in the body.

Because Sildenafil Actavis is a generic medicine and is bioequivalent to the reference medicine, its benefits and risks are taken as being the same as the reference medicine's.

The CHMP concluded that, in accordance with EU requirements, Sildenafil Actavis has been shown to have comparable quality and to be bioequivalent to Viagra. Therefore, the CHMP’s view was that, as for Viagra, the benefit outweighs the identified risk. The Committee recommended that Sildenafil Actavis be given marketing authorisation.

The European Commission granted a marketing authorisation valid throughout the European Union for Sildenafil Actavis on 10 December 2009.

For more information about treatment with Sildenafil Actavis, read the package leaflet (also part of the EPAR) or contact your doctor or pharmacist.