Futura Medical perks up on 'breakthrough' erectile dysfunction study

A clinical study of Futura's MED2002 gel on 232 men, including mild, moderate and severe ED sufferers, delivered a statistically significant improvement in erectile function, as per the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF), compared with placebo.

The results for mild sufferers were said to be highly statistically significant, with nearly twice as many males reporting a clinically relevant improvement compared with placebo.

The study used one dosage of 0.2% glyceryl trinitrate gel, and Futura said it will consider whether the use of a higher dosage could provide further measurable benefit to the moderate and severe ED sufferers.

The gel, which is applied topically, was found to produce results on 82% of patients with mild ED and within 10 minutes for 54% of mild patients.

"This rapid onset of action means that MED2002 has the potential of being the world's fastest-acting treatment for ED," Futura said.

Having show no serious adverse side-effects, the safety profile supported MED2002's use in a significant area of unmet need in ED, the company said, pointing to an estimated 7.5% of ED sufferers who cannot be prescribed PDE5 inhibitors like Viagra due to contraindications with other medicines.

Chief executive James Barder said: "The headline data from the study indicate that we have a breakthrough ED product that is not only effective but may also combine potentially the world's fastest speed of onset for an ED treatment with a very favourable safety profile.

"We will carry out further analysis of the results in the next few days and are very excited by the commercial potential of this product."

House broker N+1Singer, which will not add MED2002 to its valuation of Futura until management clarify their commercialisation strategy, noted that global branded Viagra sales in 2015 were circa $1.7bn, dominated by the $1.3bn in the US where generic competition is expected from December 2017, and were $57m in Europe in the same year.

"In our view the product addresses a significant unmet need: it has been reported that sildenafil (Viagra and generics) is contraindicated in 7.5% of patients otherwise eligible for therapy. In addition, a proportion of patients would likely prefer Eroxon over sildenafil as a result of its fast onset of action and topical administration."

Shares in Futura had stiffened 112% to 60.6p by 1130 BST on Wednesday, levels not seen since spring 2014.