EVE Health Group (ASX: EVE) has completed research and development work on a series of reformulated drug candidates targeting sexual health and cardiovascular therapies across global pharmaceutical markets.
Each program utilises the company’s proprietary drug delivery and solubilisation technologies to improve the bioavailability of established medicines with known safety profiles and offer faster onset and enhanced patient usability.
Initial validation of the technologies has been demonstrated through lead products Dyspro (a cannabinoid-based pastille targeting dysmenorrhoea) and Libbo (an oral dissolving film formulation targeting erectile dysfunction) and allowed the company to expand its commercial pipeline across multiple high-value therapeutic areas.
The new products include three proprietary oral spray formulations targeting major conditions in the global men’s sexual health market, which is estimated to exceed US$7 billion annually against an ageing population, increased consumer awareness and expanded access to treatment.
Improved Convenience and Efficacy
The company has designed a rapid-delivery, alcohol-free spray formulation of oral PDE5 inhibitor Vardenafil to treat ED, which aims to provide faster onset and improved patient convenience and efficacy while avoiding the alcohol-based systems used in similar products.
A reformulated version of short-acting selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor Dapoxetine to treat premature ejaculation also promises to offer improved delivery characteristics, ease of administration, faster absorption, and more predictable dosing.
Lastly, EVE has designed a novel dual-active spray formulation combining Vardenafil and Dapoxetine in a single delivery system to target patients experiencing ED and premature ejaculation, which frequently occur together.
The product represents a differentiated approach to combination therapy and offers potential for improved compliance and patient experience compared to administering two separate products.
Reducing Stroke Risk
EVE has developed a reformulated version of widely-prescribed oral anticoagulant Apixaban, used to reduce stroke risk in patients with atrial fibrillation and other blood clotting conditions.
Apixaban is one of the world’s best-selling pharmaceutical products that generated over US$19 billion in global sales in 2022, with primary patents expiring between 2026 and 2028.
Improving its solubility and delivery characteristics may enable the development of alternative dosage forms such as liquid or orally dissolvable formats.
This would address the limitations of conventional tablets for an estimated 590 million patients worldwide who experience dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing.
The reformulated products are being prepared for patent lodgement before advancing through commercialisation pathways to address a combined global market opportunity estimated to exceed US$8 billion.
EVE is continuing to assess partnership opportunities with pharmaceutical companies that have existing regulatory capabilities, manufacturing infrastructure, and established sales and distribution networks to enable commercialise at scale.
Commercialisation Pathway
EVE’s research and development strategy focuses on identifying high-value pharmaceutical compounds that are approaching patent expiry and suffer from limitations such as poor solubility, slow onset of action, or suboptimal administration formats.
The company aims to develop differentiated formulas of these products that can be commercialised through licencing or supply partnerships with pharmaceutical distribution networks.
The approach offers significant advantages over traditional drug discovery pathways using known safety profiles to reduce clinical development risk, targeting large markets with predictable demand and employing shorter development timelines compared to novel drug development.
“The addition of multiple men’s sexual health formulations, alongside the successful Apixaban program and patent lodgement, further validates the versatility and commercial applicability of our technology platform,” chief operating officer Ben Rohr said.
“These programs materially expand the company's commercial opportunities [and] strengthen our position as a reformulation and delivery innovation partner for the pharmaceutical industry [...] as we advance through the commercialisation pathway.”
