For a small company with only 12 employees including directors, pharmaceutical company Futura Medical (FUM:AIM) punches way above its weight. It has created the first significant innovation in the erectile dysfunction market in over 20 years with its proprietary transdermal DermaSys technology.

Having secured UK and European regulatory approval for its fast-acting erectile dysfunction gel the company received the green light on 12 June from the US Food and Drug Administration to sell into the world’s largest market of erectile dysfunction sufferers.

Approval means the gel, called Eroxon, is the only erectile dysfunction product permitted in the US without a prescription. The shares have gained around 36% since the approval and have doubled over the last year to 58p, giving the company a market value of £167 million.

Futura is having discussions with potential US partners to get the product into market. Ultimately the company wants to establish a global network of licensing and distribution partners to build
brand awareness, healthcare credibility and marketing expertise.

The global erectile dysfunction market generated sales of $3 billion in 2020 with one in five men suffering from it, including around 22 million in the US and 20 million across the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

Eroxon was launched across Europe in March and the UK in April 2023 and is available through Boots stores as well as Amazon. The brand partner is Cooper Consumer Health.

Existing treatments such as Pfizer’s (PFE:NYSE) Viagra and Eli Lilly’s (LLY:NYSE) Cialis have drawbacks. Both products no longer have patent protection and they are facing cheaper generic competition.

It can take 30 to 60 minutes for these pills to have an effect which reduces the spontaneity element. Secondly, there are side-effects ranging from headaches to hot flushes which deter long-term use.

Futura says Eroxon works within 10 minutes of application and because the product is effectively a device and not an oral pill, there is less risk of it affecting other parts of the body, unlike rival treatments.

Joe Brent, head of research at Liberum, believes Eroxon has the potential to become the market leader in a multi-billion-dollar market.

There is the potential for Futura Medical to make a lot of money but it only has a short window until patent protection expires, meaning it will have to work hard to try and extend the patent.

Brent estimates peak annual sales for Futura of between £235 million and £500 million by 2028, implying a market share of between 10% and 25%. Liberum believes Futura’s patent protection will run to 2030 in Europe and 2028 in the US with the potential for extending out to 2038.

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