by H.S. Ayoub
BioHealth Investor.com
The Business, a British business magazine, published an article early January on rumors that Pfizer (PFE) may have contacted NovaDel Pharma (NVD) to initiate research into the development of a Viagra spray.
Pfizer may be looking for a way to protect Viagra sales, especially since the active ingredient, Sildenafil, is already being sold as a generic to men all over China and countless other nations.
NovaDel may be the right choice as the company’s technology platform can reformulate the tablet form of existing drugs into an oral spray. The company has received its first FDA approval, thus, providing the ever important proof of concept.
As Catherine Boyle stated in a follow-up update to the original The Business article it seems that insiders from both companies have spilled the beans on the potential of a Viagra spray;
Update: 11/01/07 – Since this article went up on our website on Wednesday evening, a central part of the story, that Pfizer is considering an over-the-counter Viagra, has been publicly confirmed by the firm for the first time.
A spokeswoman told Reuters: "As with many of our products, Pfizer has routinely evaluated a number of options (for Viagra), including different formulations, new indications, over-the-counter, etc., and continues to do so." This is the first time Pfizer has admitted considering an OTC version of the drug and is a significant development for the industry.
She continues;
Our information that Novadel is researching a spray version of Pfizer’s Viagra drug was obtained in a conversation with a source who works at Novadel. This individual told The Business: "We have also been working on a spray version of Viagra." The individual said that this was one of several products the company is working on.
She also made it clear that both companies were told that this story would be published, but no one denied it. So she published it, only to have executives from both companies deny it to Dow Jones later.
When the original story appeared on the website it ignited shares of Novadel from the $1.40s to the $1.80s within a few days. That was not such a spectacular jump especially since Novadel stock did make it to almost $2 a couple of months before on the FDA approval news.
Today, February 13th, Novadel presented at the BIO conference in New York. The stock gained slowly over the last couple of days in anticipation that some one from the company might have something more to add to the Viagra spray story.
To everyone’s disappointment company CEO Dr. Egberts said nothing. The stock took a small dive on the day ending trading $1.69 a share, down 6 pennies.
The story of a Viagra spray sounds very interesting, and if it is true NovaDel may prove to be the story stock of the next few years. It will take atleast through 2009, if not through 2010, to get such a product to market. This is not a long time because NovaDel does not have to go through the same rigors of developing a new biopharmaceutical drug. Remember, it reformulates existing drugs into a new form, thus, bypassing safety trials.
But even if the story is not true, the very fact that NovaDel is being touted as the go-to company for a spray version of a blockbuster drug says much about the respect the company’s core technology has garnered.
It also boasts one approved product, two in late stage and should be approved in 2007, and a few more to be approved by 2008 and 2009.
Not only was Novadel featured as a BHI stock pick in early November, I myself bought company stock a week later.
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