Extract H/Sun:WHICH medicine would you rather market - a highly...

Extract H/Sun:

WHICH medicine would you rather market - a highly portable malaria treatment for children that could save millions of lives or a faster treatment for erectile dysfunction?

Suda Ltd doesn't have to choose because it is developing both but the depressing fact of pharmaceutical life is that the big commercial returns do not necessarily correlate with the humanitarian need.

The erectile dysfunction market is estimated at about $4.1 billion a year while the malaria treatment market is about $500 million, largely reflecting the wealth of those suffering the problem rather than the size of the clinical need given that malaria kills about 640,000 people a year.

Fortunately the malaria treatment, called Artimist and delivered with a simple spray under the tongue, is the most advanced of Suda's product lines after coming through phase three testing on 150 children in multiple African sites with flying colours.

Compared to intravenous quinine which only worked in 41 per cent of cases, Artimist reduced parasite count by greater than 90 per cent in 96 per cent of patients in 24 hours.

Executive chairman Stephen Carter said the real advantage of Artimist was the ease of use with the spray much more portable, easy to use and more durable in hot climates.

"When children are dehydrated and sick, this will allow them to be treated quickly and easily in their village rather than the dangers and disruption of travelling,'' said Stephen.

Suda is hoping to move to a trade sale or licensing deal of Artimist with a large pharmaceutical company by the second half of 2014 so it can concentrate on its remaining oral spray formulations of popular drugs.

While Sildenafil, the active ingredient in viagra, is possibly one of the most awaited, other promising sprays include fast treatments for migraine headache, chemotherapy caused nausea and vomiting, hypertension and pre-procedural anxiety.

Suda is a speculative buy that combines a third world social conscience with some high potential first world commercial drugs.