Can-Fite BioPharma, an advanced clinical stage drug development company with a platform technology that is designed to address multi-billion dollar markets in the treatment of cancer, inflammatory disease and sexual dysfunction, is getting set to launch its new treatment for erectile dysfunction. The Petah Tikva-based company recently announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued a Notice of Allowance for a patent titled, “A3 Adenosine Receptor Allosteric Modulators.”

Can-Fite is currently developing this proprietary A3 Adenosine Receptor (A3AR) invention for the treatment of sexual dysfunction with its next-generation drug, CF602.

“We believe there is a clear and unmet need for a new sexual dysfunction drug that safely and more effectively treats erectile dysfunction in men with diabetes,” said Can-Fite CEO Dr. Pnina Fishman.

Can-Fite plans to file an investigational new drug (IND) application with the US Food and Drug Administration for a Phase I study of CF602 in the treatment of sexual dysfunction during the fourth quarter of 2016.

“Preclinical studies in rats with diabetes mellitus show that CF602 has a mechanism of action similar to sildenafil (Viagra), with CF602 demonstrating effects on erection superior to that demonstrated by sildenafil in animal studies,” reads a statement.

GlobalData estimates the value of the erectile dysfunction therapeutic market to be approximately $2.6 billion by 2018. According to the American Diabetes Association, approximately 30 million Americans have diabetes mellitus in the US and 35-75% of men with diabetes mellitus suffer from erectile dysfunction.