Promescent is a topical medication for the treatment of premature ejaculation. It is made by Absorption Pharmaceuticals and is available over-the-counter in the U.S. by way of FDA Monograph 21CFR 348.10.
Contents
History
Promescent was invented in 2009 by doctor Ronald F. Gilbert, former chief of the Department of Urology at Hoag Hospital and assistant clinical professor of urology at UCI Medical School.
Urologists had been encouraged by the success of two topical anesthetics with fast absorption lidocaine/prilocaine eutectic formulations: EMLA and PSD502. However, neither of the products are approved by the FDA specifically for the treatment of PE due to prilocaine's unusual side effect of methemoglobinemia.
Event-level impact of Promescent on quality of sexual experience in men with subjective premature ejaculation
International Journal of Impotence Research (2016), published online 25 August 2016
Promescent is an ejaculation-delaying topical agent that appears to be effective in increasing the time to ejaculation and the overall quality of the sexual experience in men with subjective premature ejaculation. Further clinical trials that include the partner perspective would be beneficial and a larger population of patients with lifelong premature ejaculation, acquired premature ejaculation, natural variable premature ejaculation, and in male volunteers with normal intravaginal ejaculatory latency times would enhance the understanding of the differential effects of this product on all men looking to delay their ejaculation.
85.6% of participants indicated ejaculatory control to be extremely or very important
81% of participants indicated that ejaculating sooner than desired is moderately or severely bothersome
38.7% of men who did not use the product reported having an orgasm when their partner did not; that figure decreased to 21.0% when participants used Promescent
72.1% of participants felt the use of the product positively impacted their sexual experience.
Technology
Gilbert sought a eutectic formulation with maximum absorption rate through the penile skin without the use of prilocaine. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted to Absorption Pharmaceuticals the following patents related to the technology of Promescent:
These patents protect novel lidocaine-only eutectic formulations which enable increased absorption of the anesthetic through the skin.
Cultural
Promescent has sparked numerous articles in the media about the increase awareness of premature ejaculation as the leading male sexual dysfunction and the effectiveness and practicality of various topical treatments. In October, 2013, Promescent was highlighted in a story on CNBC television and website entitled "Move over, Viagra. There's a new sex drug in town."
On February 25, 2014, Mr. Skin was on the Howard Stern SiriusXM radio show describing the benefits of Promescent. Mr. Skin said "...let's say you're 5 second guy, you'll become 5 minute guy; and if you're a 5 minute guy, you'll become a 25 minute guy." Upon which Howard exclaimed enthusiastically, "Wow! These guys are geniuses!"