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The School of Medicine has reached an exclusive licensing agreement with Reliable Biopharmaceutical for a new drug formulation for the treatment of impotence.
Dr. Robert Webster, assistant vice president for research, announced the deal in which Reliable acquires the rights to a new formulation and will oversee the patenting, manufacturing and testing of the new product.
The drug was developed by James Shoemaker, M.D., assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology. Preliminary studies suggest the drug may augment the effects of oral agents such as Viagra in the 20 to 30 percent of patients for whom Viagra is not effective.
Reliable Biopharmaceutical recently has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to manufacture one of the components of the new formulation, phentolamine mesylate, under a Drug Master File.
It may be used topically or intraurethrally and combines three generic drugs that formerly have been available only in injectable form for the treatment of impotence.
"We think it will be more acceptable than needles and approach the effectiveness of the injectable medications," Shoemaker said. "Since the effects are local and more immediate, men may prefer it to pills, which take longer and may cause side effects."
Reliable Biopharmaceutical is a privately owned corporation in St. Louis. The company produces bulk pharmaceuticals, including DNA components for the biotechnology industry.
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