In return, Apricus Bio is entitled to receive up to a total of $4.35m in up-front, regulatory and sales milestone payments for the products.
Further, over the life of the agreement, Apricus Bio will receive tiered, double-digit royalties based on Neopharm’s sales of the products.
The application for approval to market Vitaros for ED in Israel is scheduled to be filed in the first half of 2011 and later, in the Palestinian Territories.
According to Apricus Bio, Vitaros operates by a different biochemical mechanism than oral ED medications, and causes erections to occur in a more localized fashion and more quickly when compared to oral treatments.
Vitaros contains a previously marketed ED drug, known by the chemical name of alprostadil.
When absorbed through the skin, alprostadil, a vasodilator, directly boosts blood flow, thereby causing an erection.
Clinical studies have shown that Vitaros works on average in approximately 15 minutes, compared to a reported onset time of 30 minutes or more for oral medications indicated for the treatment of ED.