VivaGel®-coated condom approved for marketing in Japan.

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THE ROADHOUSE PHARMACIST: Starpharma (ASX: SPL) has been granted
regulatory certification for marketing of the company’s VivaGel®‐coated
condom in Japan.

Starphama explained VivaGel® is licensed to Okamoto Industries as a condom coating for the Japanese market.

Japan is the world’s second largest condom market and Okamoto is the
market leader for condoms sold in the country with an approximate 60 per
cent share of the Japanese market.

Under Starpharma’s commercial licence agreement with Okamoto, Okamoto
has exclusive Japanese marketing rights for the VivaGel®‐coated condom.

VivaGel®‐coated condoms sold in Japan are to carry the VivaGel® brand
and Starpharma will receive royalties based on sales of these condoms.

“This receipt of the world’s first marketing approval for a
VivaGel®‐coated condom in Japan marks a major milestone for this product
and for our strategically important partnership with Okamoto,”
Starpharma chief executive officer Dr Jackie Fairley said in the
company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“We greatly appreciate Okamoto’s support and assistance in achieving
this certification and we look forward to a long and mutually profitable
commercial relationship.

“Following this certification Starpharma looks forward to the
introduction of its innovative, patented VivaGel®‐coated condom to this
key market in partnership with Okamoto, one of the world’s leading
condom companies,”

Starpharma said the value of the Japanese condom market has been estimated to be in the order of US$500 million.

In addition to its dominant position in the Japanese condom market,
Okamoto also holds strong market positions in several other Asian
markets, including Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and China.

Earlier this year Okamoto’s senior managing director Seiji Takeuchi said
condoms with functional coatings and gels represent the next wave of
innovation in the Japanese condom market following on from a
decades‐long focus on condom thinness.

“We are very pleased to be in a partnership with Starpharma for this product,” Takeuchi said.