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Today's Pharma Focus Is Innovus Pharmaceuticals Inc (OTCMKTS:INNV)

Today's Pharma Focus Is Innovus Pharmaceuticals Inc (OTCMKTS:INNV)
Written by
Alex Carlson
Published on
June 21, 2016
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InsidrFinancial

Shares of Innovus Pharmaceuticals Inc (OTCMKTS:INNV) are making another run up the chart. INNV has shown that it's a microcap runner with big swings up and down the charts. Getting the most attention for INNV is its portfolio of OTC medicines for men and women.Innovus Pharma describes itself as "emerging leader in OTC and consumer products for men's and women's health and vitality. The company generates revenues from its lead products (a) BTH Testosterone Booster, (b) BTH Human Growth Agent, (c) Zestra for female arousal and (d) EjectDelay for premature ejaculation and has an additional five marketed products in this space, including (e) Sensum+ for the indication of reduced penile sensitivity, (for sales outside the U.S. only), (f) Zestra Glide, (g) Vesele for promoting sexual and cognitive health, (i) Androferti (in the U.S. and Canada) to support overall male reproductive health and sperm quality, (j) BTH Vision Formula, (k) BTH Blood Sugar, among others and eventually FlutiCare OTC for Allergic Rhinitis, if its ANDA is approved by the U.S. FDA."Earlier this month, INNV touted its Vesele products as being complementary for Viagra and Cialis. This is key for INNV as the global erectile dysfunction drug market is expected to reach $3.2 billion USD by 2022 according to a new report by Grand View Research Inc. Male sexual dysfunction has become a multi-billion-dollar market fueled by sales of erectile dysfunction drugs like Viagra and Cialis. In fact, Pfizer Inc.'s Viagra surpassed $1 billion in sales during its first year despite having lower than usual third-party coverage. The drug has consistently surpassed $1 billion per year in sales since its launch and even briefly reached above the $2 billion mark back in 2012 despite growing competition.Vesele is designed to maximize the benefits of Nitric Oxide. The product contains two amino acids: L-Citrulline and L-Arginine, plus a patented piperine extract called BioPerine, that helps the body absorb these amino acids and results in higher NO production. Nitric Oxide relaxes blood vessels to allow for healthy blood flow throughout the body.The theory behind Vesele being complementary is that Viagra and Cialis fall into the Phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE5) class of drugs. PDE5 inhibitors work by increasing the blood flow to the penis through nitric oxide (NO) conversion therefore allowing a natural erection to take place. However, several published research shows that PDE5 treatments have high discontinuation rates. The study published by Carvalheira AA et al. in the highly reviewed Journal of Sexual Medicine shows that close to 40% of men on PDE5 inhibitors stop using the drugs due to loss of efficacy.Innovus ran a 72 patient U.S. human survey use clinical trial over 16 weeks in people with low erectile dysfunction accompanying endpoints including: 1) erection hardness; 2) erection maintenance; 3) frequency of sexual encounters; and 4) desire for sexual encounters. Based on the results from Innovus' study and the similar mechanism of action of the PDE5 inhibitors and Vesele it is conceivable that the combination of the two products might result in a higher blood flow and therefore better erections and clinical responses.Currently trading with a market cap of $18 million, INNV has built an impressive portfolio of OTC brands. INNV recently raised $2.5 million in growth capital and reduced its outstanding liabilities by $1.8 million, which puts the company on solid financial footing. This year, the company plans to become cash flow positive, and in 2017, it hopes to be profitable. INNV already has significant distribution in the United States through Walmart, Target, Walgreen’s Drugstore.com, and numerous other retailers which will allow these developments to happen. CEO Dr Bassam Damaj said:

"The reduction of the debt from our books and the huge reduction in liabilities is a testimony to the financial strength of the Company, and to our commitment to the goal of being cash flow positive exiting 2016 and potentially profitable exiting 2017."

We will be updating Insider Financial as soon as we know more. For continuing coverage on INNV, sign up for our free newsletter today and get our next hot stock pick!Disclosure: We have no position in INNV and have not been compensated for this article.

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