Bridging the intimacy gap

Premature ejaculation

Premature ejaculation is a distressing condition characterized by a loss of ejaculatory control, causing men to ejaculate before or shortly after penetration, often within one minute.

Women typically take three times longer than men to reach climax. As a result, 75% of women do not reach climax during partnered intercourse. This phenomenon is called the ‘intimacy gap’.

Premature ejaculation is about more than the man’s ability to be sufficiently engaged in intercourse. It's also about the ability of the partner, regardless of gender, to reach climax. We aim to help both partners in the bedroom, and improve relationship health outside of the bedroom.

Premature ejaculation at a glance

Types of premature ejaculation (PE)

The International Society of Sexual Medicine (ISSM) recognizes four subtypes of PE.

Lifelong PE
characterized by PE symptoms present since first sexual intercourse.

1

Subjective PE
characterized by subjective perception or imagined short ejaculation latency time, and/or diminished or lacking ability to control ejaculation

2

Acquired PE
characterized by PE symptoms beginning after a period of normal ejaculatory function

3

Natural variable PE
characterized by short ejaculatory latency occurring irregularly and inconsistently, with some subjective sense of diminished control of ejaculation

4 Existing treatments of premature ejaculation

There are no FDA-approved pharmacological treatments for premature ejaculation. Kadence Bio is developing KH-001 as an on-demand orally administered treatment.

Existing treatments include:

Drug Treatment

Licensed (non-US) and off-label (US) oral antidepressants and topical anesthetics

Non-Drug Treatment

Psychosexual counseling, education and behavioral treatments

Combination Treatment

A combination of drug and non-drug treatments

Partner health: AND, not OR

Premature ejaculation also impacts partners.

The 'intimacy gap' means that women, on average, take 3x more time to climax than men in partnered intercourse. This difference is more pronounced in couples with men affected by premature ejaculation. Both partners reaching satisfaction in intercourse may also help with reproductive potential and overall wellbeing.