On July 10th 2025, the official website of the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) showed that the Class 1 new drug Sildenafil Hydrochloride Tablets declared by Wangshan Wangshui has been approved for marketing, making it the second domestically developed Class 1 new drug approved in China for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED). According to data from Mi Nei Wang, the sales volume of chemical drugs for ED treatment in China's three major terminals and six major markets (see the end of this article for the statistical scope) exceeded 8 billion yuan in both 2023 and 2024.
Sildenafil, a new drug for ED — Originating from Epimedium, yet surpassing it; vindicating Epimedium
When Sildenafil Hydrochloride Tablets (TN171) developed by Suzhou Wangshan Wangshui was approved for marketing today, China's ED treatment field ushered in a milestone moment. However, what is little-known is that behind this new drug lies a thousand-year-long scientific vindication of the traditional Chinese medicine Epimedium — and its legend is far more magnificent than we could have imagined.
Legends and tales about Epimedium?
What are the main efficacy and clinical applications of Epimedium?
Epimedium is mainly used to treat problems such as impotence, premature ejaculation, weakness in the lower back and legs, joint pain, limb numbness, and cramps caused by insufficient kidney yang. For the treatment of symptoms related to insufficient kidney yang, such as impotence, premature ejaculation, soreness and weakness of the waist and legs, and mental fatigue caused by insufficient kidney yang, Epimedium can be used alone, or in combination with other medicinal materials such as Cistanche deserticola, Actinolite, and Psoralea corylifolia.
A Misunderstood Herb for Millennia: From "Aphrodisiac Folk Remedy" to Anti-Cancer Pioneer
Many people do not know that the first modern new drug derived from Epimedium is not an aphrodisiac. In January 2022, Icaritin Soft Capsules (Aikelaiding), developed by Beijing Shennuoji, was the first to be approved for marketing, becoming a new hope for patients with advanced liver cancer: Continuously supported by 5 major new drug creation projects from the national "Eleventh Five-Year Plan" to the "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan"
Selected into the "2022 Major Medical Advances" by the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences
Included in the National Medical Insurance Catalog continuously since 2023
This herb, labeled as an "aphrodisiac", has completed its first scientific vindication with an anti-cancer specific drug! However, some people still ridicule that traditional Chinese medicine cannot have aphrodisiac effects.
The structural formula of Icaritin
Dual Breakthroughs: When the "Sister" of Liver Cancer's Nemesis Transforms into ED's Nemesis
Eighteen months after Aikelaiding's approval, the research teams led by Shen Jingshan and Jiang Hualiang from the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, achieved another miracle from the homologous plant, addressing the indication issues that Epimedium (a traditional Chinese medicine) had not resolved: Identified the key structure from Epimedium flavonoids and broke through natural limitations through molecular modification
The innovative compound TPN171 (Sildenafil): enhanced activity and better selectivity
Sailed overseas in 2022: first entered the Uzbekistan market
Returned to its homeland in 2025: officially approved for the ED indication in China today
Compound 15 (TPN171) was ultimately identified as a potential candidate drug, and its pharmacokinetic properties in rats and dogs were significantly improved compared with the starting compound (3).
A Decade of Breaking Barriers: The Dual Mission of China's First Self-Developed PDE5 Inhibitor
The journey of Sildenafil began with a loftier mission:
Scientific Sublimation: The Modern Nirvana of Traditional Herbs
These two new drugs derived from Epimedium have achieved a dialogue across time and space:
Precise Origin
Aikelaiding targets the apoptotic mechanism of liver cancer cells, while Sildenafil precisely inhibits the PDE5 enzyme.
Dual Vindication
The anti-cancer drug breaks the prejudice of being a "aphrodisiac herb", and the ED drug surpasses the efficacy of the original extract.
Chinese Wisdom
Traditional herbs, refined by modern technology, have stepped onto the global stage of innovative drugs. "Epimedium is not a 'folk remedy', but a repository of life codes waiting to be deciphered," said the research scientists. As the hand of science lifts the millennium-old veil, this herb is reshaping the world's understanding of Chinese medicine with its multiple identities in fighting cancer, treating ED, and combating pulmonary arterial hypertension.
The Legend of Herbs: China's Answer from Mountains to the World
From Aikelaiding to Sildenafil, the modern journey of Epimedium has written a paradigm revolution in China's innovative drugs:
One Herb, Two Stars: Two major blockbuster drugs for cancer and ED derived from the homologous plant.
Independent Breakthrough: Dual indications break the foreign monopoly in the field of PDE5 inhibitors.
Rebirth of Tradition: The modernization of traditional Chinese medicine has moved beyond extracts and entered the era of molecular design.
As more "Epimediums" await awakening, China's innovative drugs are ushering in a golden age — this is not only a victory for pharmaceuticals, but also a scientific testimony of the Chinese medicine treasure house spanning thousands of years.
WuXi Further Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd
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