Nasal spray sent publisher wild

A MAGAZINE publisher has been given the go-ahead to sue a drugs company for pounds 5m after he claimed an experimental nasal spray dramatically increased his sex drive and sent him temporarily mad.

Richard Davis, 51, says the trial drug he took to combat nasal congestion led to his bankruptcy after he made irrational business decisions and began leading an extravagant lifestyle. It also increased his libido.

Mr Davis, of London, was given leave by the Court of Appeal to sue Novartis Pharmaceuticals and amend his action against consultant Professor Howard Jacobs and Camden and Islington Health Authority.

He had previously been refused permission to take court action because his original claim has been outside the legal time limit. But Lord Justice Brooke, said at the Court of Appeal yesterday: "Mr Davis's behaviour in 1990 and 1991 was so completely bizarre that it prima facie calls into question the professional competence of those who were conducting or monitoring the trials (of the drug), which should have been conducted in accordance with the detailed requirements of the trial protocol." He added: "If Mr Davis is right, he has suffered grievously by reason of the defendants' negligence."

Mr Davis was first prescribed the dopamine drug, CV, which was then unlicensed, in October 1989 by Professor Jacobs at Middlesex Hospital.