New Viagra plaster could work in just minutes, last even longer than pill

Viagra has transformed the love lives of millions of men over the last 20 years.

But is the famous little blue pill soon to be overtaken by a simple-to-use stick-on patch?

Scientists have developed a way to get the libido-boosting drug through the skin rather than the mouth. The study was published in the journal Drug Design, Development and Therapy.

It could slash the time it takes to work from up to an hour to a matter of minutes and increase the length of time it is effective for beyond the current ten hours.

The patch, which could be worn on the upper arm or abdomen, could also curb side-effects triggered by ingesting the drug, such as headaches and migraines, indigestion, disturbed vision and muscle pain.

Latest tests show it is possible to shrink sildenafil citrate, the drug used to make Viagra, down into tiny nanoparticles small enough to penetrate the skin and get into the bloodstream.

It has helped to transform the treatment of impotence – or erectile dysfunction – and restored the sex lives of countless couples.

But the 25mg pill usually has to be taken at least 30 minutes to an hour before sexual activity.

More recent drugs in the same class, such as Cialis, trigger erections more rapidly but still carry the risk of side-effects.

And for around one in three men, Viagra has no effect.

Their only other options are to inject drugs straight into the penis, or use a pump that manually increases blood supply to the organ.

Neither is very popular. Scientists have been trying for years to develop new ways to get drugs like Viagra into the blood without going via the stomach – in order to reduce the risk of adverse effects.

Previous attempts have been hindered by the fact that most pharmaceutical medicines are made up of relatively large molecules that are unable to fully penetrate the skin.