Man 1: This is the largest sexual medicine research center in the world.

Narrator: This is The Male Clinic.

Man 2: This is the toy store.

Narrator: A place financed largely by drug companies dedicated to eradicating erectile dysfunction.

Woman: And you suffer from erectile dysfunction?

Patient: Yes.

Narrator: And these are five of the clinic's grateful patients, regular guys ushering in this brave new world of sexual medicine. Meet Wes, Tolman, Joe, Kurt, and John. Do you guys even know sometimes what it is that they're giving you?

John Brittain: I have no idea. I just sign the dotted line, say I'll be a Guinea pig, and go for it.

Narrator: John Brittain is a 51-year-old athletics instructor who developed erectile dysfunction after he was diagnosed with diabetes.

John Brittain: I know, but he's not getting it up. That's the problem I have.

Man 1: He deals with it quite well, and with a great sense of humor.

John Brittain: That's what caused the ED.

[laughter]

Narrator: Over the past eight years, John has tested several drugs, including Viagra with mixed success.

John Brittain: Put her under. Put her under.

Narrator: He and his wife Tracy record their results in diaries and questionnaires.

Tracy Brittain: I couldn't tell you the names of any of them, but I always know whether it works or not.

John Brittain: She does get benefits out of it.

Tracy Brittain: Yes.

Narrator: Some of the most dramatic effects have come from a new pill called Cialis. Its effects can last up to 36 hours. It's nickname, the weekender.

John Brittain: It was exciting to feel like, oh, I've got all my magic powers back, and keep going at it. And obviously, my wife was happy and I was happy.

Narrator: Thanks to clinical testing by couples like John and Tracy, Cialis was approved by the FDA. It is the most recent prescription medication to challenge the reigning ED champ, Viagra.

Tolman Jeffs: The first time, the Viagra worked. I just wanted to screaming, eureka, and running around the room.

Narrator: Retired businessman Tolman Jeffs, a prostate cancer survivor, is one of the early heroes of the revolution. He was one of the first patients in the world to test Viagra in one of Dr. Padma-Nathan's experiments eight years ago.

Tolman Jeffs: And I've been a user of Viagra ever since.

Narrator: The rest, as we now know, has become medical, social, and marketing history.

Bob Dole: You know, it's a little embarrassing to talk about ED, but it's on board the legends of men and their partners.

Donny Deutsch: I actually think that's a terrific gift for a few reasons.

Narrator: Legendary New York advertising executive Donny Deutsch says that even though the Bob Dole ad never mentioned the name of the product, it put Viagra on the cultural map. How big a brand name is Viagra?

Donny Deutsch: Viagra's a huge name, and it's almost become a generic name. In other words, Viagra is not just the name of a pill. It's the cure to the problem. It's the drug. It's the Kleenex, if you will.

[music playing]

Narrator: For millions of men like Tolman Jeffs, Viagra was the magic pill they'd been waiting for. But the magic doesn't work for everyone. And according to the pharmaceutical industry, there are roughly 25 million men not taking Viagra who could benefit from some form of ED treatment.

Man 3: It's new.

Narrator: And so now, more than a dozen other companies are rushing in to tap into that multibillion-dollar market. Four of the man we talked to have tried this new pill called Levitra, including 61-year-old Joseph Enzolo, who developed ED when he got diabetes.

Joseph Enzolo: I think if I had to purchase, one of the products I would purchase is Levitra.

Man 3: It's new Levitra.

Narrator: On the market since September 2003, Levitra is very similar to Viagra, but the ads have come a long way since the Bob Dole days. This one features a younger average Joe—

Man 3: Sometimes, you need a little help staying in the game—

Narrator: —who just needs a little help with his aim.

[music playing]

Donny Deutsch: You really don't have to be Fellini to figure out what's going on here. All I'm missing is the train going through the tunnel.

Narrator: That ad, with all of its Freudian implications, says everything you need to know about where the male sexual revolution is heading. ED, erectile dysfunction, is old news. EQ, erectile quality, is now the name of the game.

[music playing]

It's obvious that the makers of these medicines are going for a younger audience.

Donny Deutsch: It's basically they're going, I think, for anybody that has sex.

Narrator: But you know that the drug companies, and in fact, a lot of the doctors who prescribe this medication say it's not for enhancement. It's for guys who've got a serious problem.

Donny Deutsch: I think there are a lot of other guys that are using this way beyond erectile dysfunction, and I think the drug companies are quite happy about that.

Narrator: Are you saying that this is now like a toothpaste or deodorant in which the advertisers create a need that may not entirely be there?

Donny Deutsch: Well, this is a great product, in certain cases, solving problems for men, and in other cases, it seems to be making life better for men. Advertisers do not create that. They're certainly exploiting it. They're certainly hitting that nerve. And welcome to America.

Narrator: Back at The Male Clinic in the secure medicine closet are still more drugs awaiting FDA approval and a chance to get in the game.

Man 2: There's always a better way to make a medication, and everyone keeps on trying.

Narrator: Some of the newest medications may eventually render all these pills obsolete.

Wes Witt: Whoa.

Narrator: 61-year-old CPA Wes Witt, a prostate cancer patient—

Wes Witt: There we go.

Narrator: —has been trying a cream called Alprox-TD.

Man 1: We have the patient apply it towards the tip of the penis.

Narrator: Unlike the Viagra and the Levitra he tried with limited success—

Wes Witt: Oh, no.

Narrator: —Wes says that with the cream, the results were nearly instant and automatic.

Wes Witt: I was quite relieved and very, very excited when I found out I could be a man again.

Narrator: But perhaps the most truly revolutionary treatment in the pipeline is this nasal spray, recently tested by 45-year-old photographer Kurt Hutner, the group's lone bachelor. Like many younger ED patients, Kurt has no other serious health problem. How did this drug make you feel?

Kurt Hutner: It made the process of getting an erection feel like you were a 15-year-old boy again.

Narrator: The spray is called PT-141. And unlike the other medicines, which operate on the penis itself, this one works on the area of the brain that triggers erections to begin with.

Kurt Hutner: It helped the libido, so you had the urge to desire to get active and get things going again.