The mouth spray has been a signal of sexual confidence among lotharios since time immemorial.

But that classic scenes in dives around the world takes on a whole new perspective when the mouth spray is Viagra.

West Australian biotech Suda (ASX:SUD) 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, muscus-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).

Mouth spray drug delivery is not new idea. It’s been done for marijuana and the painkiller fentanyl.

But Suda chief Stephen Carter says his competitive advantage is a suite of patents covering both delivery and drug formulations.

Whereas only 10 to 30 per cent of medication contained in a pill entered the blood stream, an oral spray could deliver 90 to 95 per cent, Carter said yesterday at a press briefing.

Big pharmaceutical companies are beginning to pick up the technology, he said.

Suda has signed deals with Eddingfarm to distribute insomnia drug Zolpimist in China and with TEVA to distribute in Brazil, Mexico, Chile and potentially Argentina, Israel and Australia, for which they’re getting “double-digit royalties”.

Suda is also in early negotiations with Pfizer to turn several over-the-counter drugs into mouth sprays.

“We wanted to make a mark on the oral muscosa market, and that will be seen by the company we keep,” Carter said, referring to the licensing deals.

“It is a validation of the technology. A 10-person company working out of Western Australia being approached by one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world.”

Pfizer approached the company on the back of a presentation in China at the BIT Congress in November, wanting a product that cold deliver drugs within 10-15 minutes rather than 20-30 minutes for a pill.

Suda does have a few challenges however.

Landing three major deals since the start of the year is stretching resources.

And a lawsuit from Germany is hanging over their heads.

Chairman Michael Stewart said the previous management had sold the manufacturing of one product into a company called Berlin Farmer.

Suda investor James Richardson raised serious allegations of conflicts of interest and fraud. Berlin Farmer was ultimately wound up – but the German administrator is still chasing Suda for 8 million euro ($11.9 million).

Stewart and Carter are confident, however, that once the case is brought to Australia the statute of limitations will see them win the case.

Until then, it will stay on the books as a contingent liability.

And while the idea of a Viagra mouth spray may excite some, it’s still in clinical trials – Sildenafil defiantly refused to cross the ora-muscosa barrier.

But don’t worry, they’re working on it.

Suda’s shares were trading at 2c early today, valuing the company at $24.4 million. The shares have traded between 1c and 3c over the past year.