Female viagara maker Palatin Technologies explores sale

Palatin Technologies Inc, a biopharmaceutical company developing a drug to treat low sex drive in women, has hired an investment bank to explore a sale or licensing deal, Reuters yesterday reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.

New Jersey-based Palatin has hired Greenhill & Co Inc to conduct a review after receiving several offers from interested companies, the report said, cautioning that there is no guarantee the review will result in a deal.

Palatin is developing female viagara - currently in Phase 3 clinical trials. It also has development programs or drug candidates for heart failure, pulmonary diseases, obesity, inflammatory and dermatologic diseases and erectile dysfunction.

Its experimental drug, bremelanotide - meant to boost the libido of pre-menopausal women, demonstrated improvement on scales measuring levels of desire and distress in 24-week studies of more than 1,200 women diagnosed with hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD).

Palatin expects to file approval for bremelanotide with the US regulators in the second half of 2017.

If approved, it would compete with Valeant Pharmaceuticals' drug Addyi, which was approved this year.