Washington, Nov 20 An experimental spray, used just five minutes before sexual intercourse, has been found to effectively delay premature ejaculation in men, say researchers.

The spray called PSD502 includes two drugs lidocaine and prilocaine.

The study showed that men treated with PSD502 were able to delay ejaculation up to five times longer than those who used placebo.

It works selectively on non-keratinized skin on the glans penis (head of the penis).

The patients and partners in both trials reported significant improvements in sexual satisfaction, and the drug was well tolerated.

"Premature ejaculation can have a powerful negative impact on the emotional and sexual lives of men and their partners," said Professor Stanley E. Althof, PhD, Centre for Marital and Sexual Health of South Florida, West Palm Beach, Florida.

"Recently, the international sexual health community agreed that PE should be defined as ejaculation occurring within approximately one minute of penetration that causes the patient distress.

"Now we need to work to develop treatments, and these encouraging results with PSD502 seem to be a step in the right direction," Althofa added.

"We are excited that results from two pivotal studies have shown that PSD502 was effective for men with PE, and we look forward to the opportunity to help patients who have had no real options to date," said Patrick Fourteau, Chief Executive Officer of Sciele Pharma, Inc.

The study was presented at the annual meeting of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America (SMSNA), Inc. in San Diego. (ANI)