Chris Mikula/Postmedia News files
Eugene Melnyk.
Oct 6, 2011 – 6:03 PM ET | Last Updated: Oct 7, 2011 2:37 PM ET
Less than two years after severing his links with drug-maker Biovail Corp, Eugene Melnyk is again making headlines with an experimental sexual dysfunction medicine delivered in the form of a nasal spray.
The product, identified only as TBS-2, successfully completed a key test called a “Vibro-Tactile Stimulation clinical study,” according to Trimel Pharmaceuticals Corp., who’s largest shareholder is Mr. Melnyk. The company said in a statement on Thursday that it expects to present the data from the study to the U.S. Food and Drug administration at a meeting in November.
Mr. Melnyk, owner of the Ottawa Senators NHL team, rose to fame during the 1990s as the founder and chief executive of Biovail Corp., one of Canada’s most successful pharmaceutical firms ever with a string of blockbuster drugs to its credit. But after a series of brushes with regulators and some missed revenue targets, Mr. Melnyk left the company, selling his remaining shares last year.
He wasted no time in starting up his new venture.
Back in July he sold four million common shares in Trimel on the TSX, leaving himself with a 64.3% stake. The shares closed on Thursday at $1.17, up 9¢, giving the company a market value of about $97-million.
Is Trimel set to replicate Biovail’s early success? It’s probably too early to tell but what seems clear is that Mr. Melnyk has plenty of experience in the business and he knows what works.
Before drugs can go on the market they must pass a series of rigorous and costly clinical trials that generally take several years to complete. The results are then presented regulatory authorities who make the final decision.
According to Trimel, TBS-2 is designed to treat a condition known as “Anorgasmia” that affects one in five women and for which there is no approved treatment. The product is described as a “proprietary intra-nasal bio-adhesive gel formulation of testosterone” that was delivered in the study using pre-loaded syringes as a dispenser.
Trimel is developing a range of products related to sexual health as well as asthma, Parkinson’s disease and aging.
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