Dong-A PharmTech to launch Zydena in Russia
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
Russia's health ministry has approved Dong-A PharmTech's tablet for erectile dysfunction (ED) Zydena (udenafil). Valenta Pharmaceuticals (formerly Otechestvennie Lekarstva), its local partner, is expected to launch the product in the fourth quarter of this year. Zydena will compete with Pfizer's Viagra (sildenafil citrate) and Lilly's Cialis (tadalafil), but is expected to gain a large share of the market for ED products because of its long action and rare side-effects, Dong-A PharmTech says. Dong-A PharmTech is a South Korean company focusing on the development and commercialisation of udenafil and other drug candidates worldwide. It launched Zydena in Korea in 2005 and captured 24% of the country's ED market within two years. The product is in clinical trials in the US for erectile dysfunction, and it is planning development programmes for other indications such as benign prostatic hyperplasia and pulmonary hypertension.