Hemorrhoids...anal fissures...taint trauma...the stuff of nightmares!
Relief may be in sight, though, thanks to Ventrus Biosciences, a small pharmaceutical outfit focused on the development and sale of gastrointestinal disorders. That's right. They're here to heal your heiney hole!
Their top three development product candidates:
- VEN 307 (Diltiazem cream) - A topical treatment for pain associated with anal fissures.
- VEN 308 (Phenlyephrine gel) - For the treatment of fecal incontinence associated with ileal pouch anal anastomosis.
- VEN 309 (Iferanserin ointment) - A topical treatment for symptomatic internal hemorrhoids.
Their stock price plummeted back in July...they hit a wall with VEN 309 after failure in a Phase III trial, but they have made some serious headway with VEN 307, posting positive Phase III results (specifically, a significant reduction in pain on defecation for sufferers of anal fissures) that some believe may lead to possible approval of the drug in the second half of 2013.
I've made a number of very good calls on small pharma picks in the past, and I'm looking forward to doing the Saint-VTUS dance of joy about a year from now when these purveyors of anal-gesics get the thumbs up for this fissure-fixer-upper.