Palatin, King Pharmaceuticals say bremelanotide helps sexual dysfunction patients

By Elaine Rigoli

Tampa, Fla., June 22 - Palatin Technologies, Inc. and King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced the part 1 results from a two-part phase 2a pilot study evaluating the effect of bremelanotide, a melanocortin agonist, in 18 premenopausal women, ages 22 to 44 years old, diagnosed with female sexual arousal disorder.

These patients received an intranasal 20 mg dose of bremelanotide or a placebo during the first in-clinic session and the alternate medication in the second in-clinic session.

The patient's vaginal pulse amplitude (VPA) was monitored 20 minutes before dosing until 60 minutes following dosing.

After a 24-hour at-home period, the patients completed a questionnaire assessing their sexual activity and their subjective evaluation of sexual desire and sexual arousal, the company said in a news release.

Although there were no changes in VPA during the immediate post-dose period when comparing bremelanotide to a placebo, the data indicated a positive correlation between sexual desire and genital arousal in patients receiving bremelanotide treatment in the 24-hour at-home period.

Exploratory results showed that on a 14-item questionnaire, 67% of women on bremelanotide reported an increased level of sexual desire while only 22% of women responded similarly after a placebo treatment.

Meanwhile, 72% of the women reported an increased level of genital arousal while on bremelanotide compared with 39% of women on a placebo.

Palatin, based in Cranbury, N.J., is a biopharmaceutical company developing melanocortin-based therapeutics.

King, based in Bristol, Tenn., is a branded pharmaceutical company.

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