BioSante to start female sex-gel trials

BioSante Pharmaceuticals Inc., the developer of a gel to treat female sexual dysfunction, aims to fund clinical trials with cash from its planned acquisition of Cell Genesys Inc., a developer of cancer vaccines.

“We would hope to close the merger somewhere between September 30 and October 30, and that will bring in between $20 and $25 million into BioSante, which will allow us to continue the program we have ongoing right now,” Chief Executive Officer Stephen Simes, 57, said today in a telephone interview.

The Lincolnshire-based company is in Phase III trials of LibiGel, which uses testosterone to help improve women’s sexual desire, and hopes to apply for U.S. regulatory approval in the first half of 2011, he said.

LibiGel is designed for women whose testosterone levels have declined because of aging or ovary removal, and will target a market with annual sales of at least $1 billion, Simes said. A rival product, a testosterone patch made by Noven Pharmaceuticals Inc. and licensed by Procter & Gamble Co., has had its development put on hold, according to Noven’s Web site.

Multiple treatments are available for men, such as erectile dysfunction drugs Viagra, made by Pfizer Inc., Eli Lilly & Co.’s Cialis and Bayer AG’s Levitra.

“Viagra has been available for 10 years, and still to date, women do not have an FDA-approved option to help treat their sexual functioning,” Simes said. “It’s high time women had a choice.”