Suda, maker of viagra and anti-malarial mouth sprays, says it’s refocusing on the US market for future deal-making.

Suda (ASX:SUD) says it’s had a “significant” number of extra deals come through the door after focusing just on the US.

“SUDA currently has 12 potential transactions at a term sheet stage,” the company told investors.

“In addition to this, SUDA has in excess of 30 active leads and discussions at the technical level, all of which are subject to non-disclosure agreements.”

CEO Stephen Carter told Stockhead they had a “scattergun” approach to doing deals and had been looking around the world — which was a challange in the lucrative US market where agreements often come through networks and face-to-face meetings.

The change in strategy started when they brought on ex-GlaxoSmithKline deal-maker David Phillips on as a consultant last year, then on to the board this year. They’ll now be hiring a US-based employee to take care of the deal-sourcing.

Suda specialises in turning drugs into mouth sprays, so they are absorbed into the bloodstream via the soft, muscus-covered tissues in the mouth.

Sprays on the market or in approval processes include treatments for malaria and epilepsy.

Suda shares (ASX:SUD) over the past year.
Suda shares (ASX:SUD) over the past year.

It has also worked out how to get Sildenafil — Viagra — into a mouth spray as well as the insomnia pill Zolpidem (better known as Ambien) 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 month it settled a lawsuit in Germany that has dogged it for years.

The claim related to an alleged failed in-kind capital contribution in 2008 when SUDA’s former directors licensed manufacturing rights for SUDA’s anti-malarial spray ArTiMist to HC Berlin Pharma in return for €8 million in HCBP shares.

The German company collapsed and the receiver started chasing Suda for the funds.

While the company has insisted for years that it was in the clear, it agreed to pay a total of €1.62 million ($2.5 million) for the claim and legal costs.

>> Read Stockhead biotech columnist Tim Boreham’s profile of Suda here

Before the receiver won an initial claim in German courts last year, Suda’s stance was that their lawyers believed “the Statement of Claim contained assertions that were not factual… the claim is without significant merit and will be vigorously defended.”

Suda shares opened flat at 0.5c.

After debuting on the market with a roar in 2002 and watching its share price surge over 50c, it has since failing to keep gains. It is currently near the all-time low of 0.4c.

Mr Carter says the share price has been impacted by a 0.5c rights issue they launched this month to raise $6.1 million.

He expects that once that closes and news flow from the prospective deals begins to land, Suda’s share price will “take care of itself”.