Efficacy and Safety of Dapoxetine for the Treatment of Premature Ejaculation: Integrated Analysis of Results from Five Phase 3 Trials

Introduction. Dapoxetine has been evaluated for the on-demand treatment of premature ejaculation (PE) in five phase 3 studies in various populations worldwide and has recently been approved in several countries. Aim. To present integrated efficacy and safety data from phase 3 trials of dapoxetine. Methods. Data were from five randomized, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies conducted in over 25 countries. Men (N = 6,081) >= 18 years who met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, text revision criteria for PE; four studies required a baseline intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT) of < 2 minutes. Dapoxetine 30 and 60 mg on demand (prn; 1-3 hours before intercourse) were evaluated for either 12 or 24 weeks in four studies; one study evaluated dapoxetine 60 mg daily (qd; included in safety assessments only) or prn for 9 weeks. Main Outcome Measures. End points included stopwatch-measured IELT, Premature Ejaculation Profile (PEP) items, clinical global impression of change (CGIC) in PE, and adverse events (AEs). Results. Average IELT (mean [standard deviation], geometric mean [standard error]) increased from baseline (across groups, 0.9 [0.49] minutes, 0.8 [1.01] minutes) to a significantly greater extent with dapoxetine 30 (3.1 [3.91] minutes, 2.0 [1.03] minutes) and 60 mg (3.6 [3.85] minutes, 2.3 [1.03] minutes) vs. placebo (1.9 [2.43] minutes, 1.3 [1.02] minutes; P < 0.001 for all) at week 12 (geometric mean fold increase, 2.5, 3.0, and 1.6, respectively). All PEP items and CGIC improved significantly with both doses of dapoxetine vs. placebo (P < 0.001 for all). The most common AEs included nausea, dizziness, and headache, and evaluation of validated instruments demonstrated no anxiety, akathisia, suicidality, or changes in mood with dapoxetine use and no discontinuation syndrome following abrupt withdrawal. Conclusions. In this diverse population, dapoxetine significantly improved all aspects of PE and was generally well tolerated. McMahon CG, Althof SE, Kaufman JM, Buvat J, Levine SB, Aquilina JW, Tesfaye F, Rothman M, Rivas DA, Porst H. Efficacy and safety of dapoxetine for the treatment of premature ejaculation: Integrated analysis of results from five phase 3 trials. J Sex Med 2011;8:524-539.