China is producing its first erectile dysfunction medicine treatment based on compound ingredient previously patented for Viagra, and the drug is expected to perform well on the market. Liu Zhihua reports.

China has developed its answer to Viagra.

Shanghai-listed Guangzhou Baiyuanshan Pharmaceutical Holdings Co is launching Jin'ge nearly two decades after the United States Food and Drug Administration approved Viagra as an erectile dysfunction treatment.

The brand name, which literally translates as "Golden Spear", comes from a line by Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) poet Xin Qiji that portrays soldiers' bravery.

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Unlike "the little blue pill", as Viagra is commonly known, Jin'ge will come in red, green, orange and pink, and in different packs.

Since the US-based company Pfizer's patent for Viagra, which uses sildenafil as its main ingredient and is known as weige in Chinese, expired in China in May, Chinese pharmaceutical companies have been scrambling for a share of the ED medicine market.

Guangzhou Baiyunshan held a news conference in Guangdong's provincial capital Guangzhou on Sept 18 to announce it has received permission from China's State Food and Drug Administration to produce a crystalline compound using sildenafil citrate and will start selling the medicine in late October.

"Sex is important to a couple's intimacy and relationship, but a large number of Chinese men have ED issues, which results in an unsatisfying sex life for both partners," says Zhang Feng, deputy director of the China Sexology Association in Beijing.

"It's good news that ED medicine produced by a Chinese manufacturer is now available to Chinese."