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Biotech / Medical : Zonagen (zona) - good buy? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dauntless who wrote (1441)	12/31/1997 8:54:00 PM
From: Bill Wexler	Respond to of 7041

Phentolamine is indeed a widely available generic drug. Phentolamine is a vasodilator which may be used to treat erectile dysfunction by direct injection into the penis. It is sometimes used in combination with other drugs, and has been widely available for years. Do a web search for "phentolamine" and check for yourself. Since it isn't pleasant to inject something into your penis, someone at Zonagen got the bright idea to administer it orally to treat ED. Unfortunately, there is no evidence that this is efficacious. Zonagen doesn't have any claim to a unique drug...there are even versions of oral and sub-lingual phentolamine already out there. However; Zonagen claims to have a "fast-release" (oral) method which they imply is patented. But this is hogwash. Below is Asensio's writeup on the real patent: <<DESCRIPTION OF ZONAGEN'S PATENT Zonagen does not possess a patent on the Vasomax formulation. In fact, Zonagen does not own a patent on either phentolamine or an oral phentolamine pill. Zonagen acquired Dr. Adrian Zorgniotti's "method-of-use" patent (U.S. Patent number: 5,565,466) for the "transmucosal, transdermal, intranasal, and rectal" administration of phentolamine as a treatment for ED. Zonagen obtained this right from Dr. Zorgniotti and Gamogen, Inc. for $100,000 in cash, 19,512 shares (closing price on April 12, 1996 was $10.25) and a royalty agreement. The Zorgniotti patent is Zonagen's only ED related patent. The Zorgniotti patent is not relevant to Zonagen's "impotence pill" business. On the contrary, the Zorgniotti patent specifically describes the drawbacks associated with oral administration of a drug in an attempt to effect delivery to a specific site. Zonagen filed a separate patent application in 1995 to cover the formulation and delivery of oral phentolamine. To date, Zonagen has not disclosed whether the claims made in this second patent application have been allowed. The patent is still pending. In any case, we see no value in a patent on a phentolamine pill for the treatment of impotence since the drug is a generic and has been repeatedly shown to be ineffective.>>