Uprima is a medication designed to treat erectile dysfunction. The drug is manufactured through a joint venture between Takeda Chemical Industries (Japan) and Abbott Laboratories (US). Uprima was successfully granted approval for use in the United Kingdom. The joint ventures work is in the field of anti viral drugs and they had been looking into problems associated with health in men, particularly prostate problems. Their work also included research into Parkinson’s disease and efforts to try to restore the balance between dopamine and acetylcholine.

Uprima contains the active ingredient Apomorphine, which is a type of medicine called a dopamine agonist. It mimics the activity of a substance in the brain called dopamine. Dopamine is a substance known as a neurotransmitter. Neurotransmitters are present in the brain and nervous system and are involved in transmitting messages between nerves.

Men suffering from erectile dysfunction suffer from a lack of enhancement of the nerve signals that cause an erection. Abbot found through their research, that by giving men with erectile dysfunction controlled doses of the substance Apomorphine, an erection was possible. This would only occur when the men had been sexually stimulated by sight, smell, sound or touch. Uprima mimics the erection-producing effect of dopamine by stimulating the same dopamine receptors in the hypothalamus. This enhances the effect of natural dopamine that is produced as a result of sexual stimulation. The nerve signals to the penis are enhanced, and this results in blood entering the penis, ultimately causing it to become rigid and erect.

Uprima gained approval from the F.D.A in 2000 and gained approval in Europe in 2001 providing an alternative medication for men suffering from erectile dysfunction.