Health: Suda sniffs out a Sanofi study for its mouth spray

Viagra mouth spray maker SUDA Pharmaceuticals (ASX:SUD) has talked a multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical company into backing its tech.

Sanofi-Aventis has signed a feasibility agreement to test the mouth spray technology with one of its own active ingredients, a study Sanofi will pay for.

The study is expected to be completed by March 2021 and the companies are preparing now.

The company won’t reveal which ingredient will be tested nor how much the study will cost.

The company does not expect “significant” revenue to come out of this agreement, but now it has a toe in the door of a major pharmaceutical business it is hoping “further collaboration” may happen after the study is finished.

The West Australian biotech is developing a mouth spray using the drug Sildenafil — sold under the brand Viagra — to help arterial hypertension (which is what it was originally designed for) and its more commonly known use.

Suda has developed a method of delivering drugs via a spray, so they are absorbed into the bloodstream via the soft, mucus-covered tissues in the mouth.

Erectile dysfunction is just one application.

Others include malaria and epilepsy and the insomnia pill Zolpidem, which Tiger Woods had in his system when arrested for driving offences in May (and to spice up his love life back in 2009).

This year Suda has signed up a Spanish pharma company to use the Oromist tech, pot stock Cann Group (ASX:CAN), and is still pushing its cancer-cure mouth spray as well.

In other ASX health news:

Medibio (ASX:MEB) is restructuring to save cash by shifting its HQ from the US to Australia. CEO, managing director, and chairman David Kaysen is resigning and will be replaced by founder Claude Solitario. Kaysen was appointed a year ago after his predecessor Jack Cosentino was sacked.

Former social media company ShareRoot (ASX:SRO) has changed its name to Opyl (ASX:OPL) to reflect the move from online media to digital health. It is “retiring” the social media arm of the business.

ChinaLink is investing $US10m ($14.6m) in Invitrocue (ASX:IVQ), a bio-analytics company. ChinaLink is a Hong Kong-based investment fund which invests in high growth companies in sectors like biotech, cleantech, artificial intelligence and smart cities.

Aged care provider Estia Health (ASX:EHE) says spot occupancy fell to 93.5 per cent by the end of November, across its portfolio of 5,944 operational beds. “It is now not anticipated that the dynamics and sentiment will improve materially in the short-term,” Estia said.

Lab trials found that Zoono Group’s (ASX:ZNO) ZOONO Z71 Microbe Shield was “extremely effective” in counteracting the African Swine Fever Virus. It had a better than 99.99 per cent reduction rate. The AFS virus, which is a particularly difficult virus to inactivate, is decimating pig populations globally.