‘It wouldn’t exist’: Viagra inventor tells how Welsh miners began its rise

Dr David Brown: ‘There’s still embarrassment about sex and men having impotence. There’s still a huge taboo.’ Photograph: Christian Sinibaldi/The Guardian

It was the ultimate serendipitous discovery: a failed heart medication that became a multibillion-dollar erectile dysfunction drug. But the blockbuster story of Viagra could have ended differently were it not for the frankness of the Welsh miners who took part in a clinical trial just before the drug was due to be scrapped, according to Viagra’s co-inventor.

Speaking before the screening of Men Up, a new BBC drama, executive produced by Russell T Davies, about the ordinary middle-aged Welsh men who took part in early trials, Dr David Brown said the drug’s unexpected side-effect was almost overlooked.