Apricus Biosciences launches its novel topical treatment for erectile dysfunction in Portugal, Ireland and Poland

To be Commercialized in Portugal and Ireland as Vitaros and in Poland as Vytaros.

Richard Pascoe, CEO of Apricus, commented: “We are pleased to announce the launch of Vitaros in these important ED markets by our partner Recordati. With these launches, Vitaros is now commercially available in seven European countries, including Spain, where Recordati successfully introduced the product as Virirec a year ago. Moreover, we expect additional approvals and product launches later this year and early next year by our commercialization partners in Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. Looking forward, our key strategic goals continue to be achieving profitability through Vitaros revenue growth and obtaining Vitaros FDA approval in the US in 2017.”

In February 2014, Apricus signed an exclusive license agreement with Recordati to market Vitaros in Spain, Russia, Turkey, Ireland and certain other European and African countries and received an upfront payment of $2.4 million. Under the terms of the agreement, Apricus is eligible to receive up to approximately $39.7 million from Recordati in additional milestones, plus double-digit tiered royalties in the 10 to 20% range based on Recordati’s net sales of the product in the territory.

Vitaros is a new entrant into these ED treatment markets, offering a product profile making it appealing to certain patients. Vitaros is a topical ED cream that delivers rapid onset (generally 5 to 30 minutes) and treatment duration of approximately one to two hours. Vitaros’ local delivery provides an alternative for patients, but particularly those with complications that preclude them from using the orally delivered systemic treatments or who prefer to avoid the injectable forms of alprostadil.