Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Procter & Gamble, the world's largest consumer-products company, will license Noven Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s hormone skin patch designed to boost sex drive in women, Noven said.

Procter & Gamble will pay Noven undisclosed royalties, manufacturing fees and milestone payments for meeting development and commercial goals, Miami-based Noven said in a statement.

The experimental testosterone patch treats lack of desire, the most common sexual complaint of women, according to Noven. The $2 billion-a-year market for male impotence treatments, led by Pfizer Inc.'s Viagra, has spurred a search for a version of the drugs for women. Procter & Gamble sells a testosterone patch for women, known as Intrinsa, in Europe though no therapy for the disorder has been approved in the U.S.

``We are excited to be advancing our collaboration with one of the world's best-regarded companies,'' said Peter Brandt, Noven's president and chief executive officer, in the statement.

A study published July 23 in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that Viagra improved sexual desire in women taking antidepressants who had complained that the medication diminished their arousal. Pfizer has said it conducted numerous tests of Viagra in women that showed the drug didn't increase women's desire or sexual enjoyment.

BioSante's Gel

Still, several different therapies are being studied for women's lack of desire such as Lincolnshire, Illinois-based BioSante Pharmaceutical Inc.'s testosterone gel, LibGel. The therapy is part of three, late-stage studies that will involve more than 3,500 women, according to BioSante's Web site.

Cincinnati-based P&G will fund clinical development costs for Noven's patch and oversee applications to regulatory agencies, according to Noven.

Noven's shares climbed 14 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $12.61 at 4 p.m. in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. Procter & Gamble fell 40 cents, or less than 1 percent, to $69.90 on the New York Stock Exchange.

To contact the reporter on this story: David Olmos in San Francisco at dolmos@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 21, 2008 16:17 EDT