The Starpharma Holdings Limited (ASX: SPL) share price is on course to end the week on a positive note.
In morning trade, the dendrimer products developer's shares are up 4.5% to $1.25.
Why is the Starpharma share price rising?
The catalyst for the rise in the Starpharma share price on Friday has been the release of an announcement relating to its Viraleze antiviral nasal spray.
According to the release, the company has signed a sales and distribution agreement for Viraleze with Admenta Italia Group. It is a leading pharmaceutical retail and wholesale distribution company in Italy.
The company notes that the Italian over the counter (OTC) pharmaceutical market is the third largest in Europe after Germany and the UK. Admenta is a leader in the market operating over 260 pharmacies under its LloydsFarmacia brand, including 13 parapharmacies and 50 franchising pharmacies.
The release explains that the Viraleze product is expected to be available to Italian consumers in stores and via LloydsFarmacia's online platform this quarter. Under the agreement, Starpharma will supply Viraleze and Admenta will be responsible for distribution, sales, and marketing of the product in the country.
What is Viraleze?
Viraleze is a broad-spectrum antiviral nasal spray which is applied in the nose to provide a physical barrier between viruses and the nasal mucous membrane. The product traps and irreversibly inactivates virus, including SARS-CoV-2.
Positively, the antiviral agent in Viraleze, known as SPL7013, has been shown in laboratory studies to have potent antiviral and virucidal activity in multiple respiratory viruses and multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2. This includes the inactivation of >99.9% of the highly infectious Delta variant.
Starpharma's CEO, Dr Jackie Fairley, commented: "We are very pleased to have partnered with Admenta in Italy and we look forward to having Viraleze available soon to Italian consumers, through pharmacies as well as through the leading LloydsFarmacia online platform."
