Drug Companies Take on Pfizer for Share of Viagra Market.

Byline: Bruce Japsen

Jul. 13--Drug companies are arming for a war making war over a product for making love.

Some of the world's largest drug-makers will act on both urges simultaneously as they battle to take on their now famous foe-- -- the blue, diamond-shaped blue Viagra pill known as Viagra. Five years ago, the drug hit the market and that which transformed the treatment of sexual impotence when it hit the market five years ago.

ButUntil now, Viagra, which until now has had the market to itself, but may soon find that three's a crowd.

Two new rival pills could be approved for sale in the United States by this fall, setting that would set the stage for a marketing clash that drug-makers think would be the pharmaceutical industry equivalent of Coke vs. Pepsi. Viagra's challengers claim their products -- Cialis and Levitra -- work faster and last longer.

To counter unprecedented ad spending on Viagra featuring such celebrity pitchmen as like former Republican presidential aspirant Bob Dole and baseball slugger Ralfphael Palmeiro, the competitors plan huge media spending as well. One challenger will hire Da Coach himself, Mike Ditka, as part of a planned NFL sponsorship, while the other has a major sponsorship inked with suburban Chicago's Western Open PGA golf tournament.

The rivals will likely need all the help they can get. Pfizer Inc.'s Viagra has dominated the market for treating erectile dysfunction, racking up $1.7 billion in sales last year. The New York-based drug giant spent nearly $100 million last year on U.S. media advertising alone, helping to create for what is arguably the nation's best-known brand-…