Fertin launches Chlorhexidine gum in Singapore

It stands to be second to market after Pfizer's nicotine gum, capitalising on the country's relaxation of a chewing gum ban.

The Chlorhexidine gum will be launched by local import and distribution company Ziwell Medical. It is based on Fertin's patented MediChew technology and is suitable for delivery of buccally absorbed active substances and providing easy administration with prolonged local effect in the oral cavity and throat.

A chewing gum formulation offers a number of clinical benefits. As many active substances are buccally absorbed, efficacy can be enhanced due to the associated fast onset of action and high bioavailability. Medical chewing gum also provides a topical effect in the oral cavity and in the throat.

The active compound, specifically named chlorhexidinediacetate, is present in many of Fertin's products including antibacterial gum Vitaflo CHX, Advanced+ and Hexit, gums designed for the prevention of caries, the demineralisation, and breakdown of tooth structure by plaque acids.

From a patient point of view, easy administration without water promotes higher compliance. A chewing gum formulation offers a viable alternative to swallowing tablets, which can be difficult for patients and children.

The sale of therapeutic gum represents something of a u-turn for Singapore's relatively strict government. Singapore banned the import, manufacture and sale of chewing gum in 1992 to prevent discarded gum from sticking to trains, buildings and pavements.

However, Singapore's emergence as a scientific nerve centre within the Asian continent, particularly within the past decade, has prompted the country to ease its ban regarding chewing gum during trade talks with the US in 2002.

It has allowed only chewing gum containing a therapeutic agent and/or approved for therapeutic use 'prescribed by a doctor or dentist'.

The launch follows March 2004's ruling in which the city-state allowed the sale of Pfizer's nicotine gum.