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COPENHAGEN, Denmark and NESS ZIONA, Israel, November 28/PRNewswire/ -- LEO Pharma A/S and Foamix Ltd. announced today that the two companies have signed an agreement to jointly develop two topical medicated foams for the treatment of psoriasis. The foams will be based on LEO Pharma's proprietary Calcipotriene (Vitamin D3) compound and its combination with specific steroids, which represent the forefront of psoriasis therapy.
The agreement includes significant milestone payments to Foamix upon the attainment of development, regulatory and clinical goals. Foamix will be responsible for the foam formulation development of the products. LEO will be responsible for the clinical and regulatory development as well as sales and marketing of the products in the agreed territories.
Psoriasis is a skin disorder that most commonly appears as inflamed, edematous skin lesions covered with a silvery white scale. The most common type of psoriasis is plaque psoriasis. Nearly 13 million people worldwide suffer from psoriasis with more than 7 million people of these in the United States (2 to 4% of Caucasian population). Between 150,000 to 260,000 new cases occur annually in the USA. Psoriasis affects children and adults, with peaks in people 16-22 and 57-60 years of age. Men and woman are affected equally.
"We believe that Foamix foam offers the perfect properties to deliver our anti-psoriasis actives. Foamix foam spreads easily over large surfaces, absorbs instantly, doesn't burn and can deliver the active agents necessary to effectively treat psoriasis. LEO Pharma's products are currently the leading non-steroidal topical treatments for psoriasis, and we expect that our new foam formulations will expand our position in the dermatological arena," said Ernst Lunding, President and Chief Executive Officer of LEO.
"The vast majority of psoriasis patients go untreated as they have to battle their disease with messy ointments and creams that do not spread easily and require rubbing into sore skin. Effective treatment requires not only the correct actives, but also a delivery form which spreads quickly and easily and allows rapid absorbtion, in short, is patient friendly. We believe the new anti-psoriasis foam will provide Leo with a groundbreaking addition to their existing treatments which will be welcomed both by patients and dermatologists because of its ease of use, which we believe will increase individual patient compliance and broaden the overall patient coverage. We are looking forward to working closely with LEO on this and other projects," said Foamix CEO Dr. Dov Tamarkin.
About LEO Pharma:
LEO Pharma is a research based pharmaceutical company employing 3,200 people in more than 40 countries. It is headquartered in Denmark and is among the world's leading companies in topical dermatology and parenteral treatment of thromboembolic disorders.
For additional information: www.leo-pharma.com or Adam Estrup, Corporate Communications, LEO Pharma A/S, adam.estrup@leo-pharma.com +45-72-26-23-53
About Foamix:
Headquartered in Ness Ziona, Israel, Foamix Ltd. develops alcohol-free, non-flammable, stable foam products for prescription, Over-the-Counter and cosmetic uses. Foamix's state-of-the-art foams provide controlled delivery of a variety of active ingredients. They are also able to enhance intradermal delivery of actives, for optimal effect. The Company's development capabilities range from initial development of foam formulations to scale-up, GMP manufacturing and clinical supplies. Foamix recently received three U.S. patent approvals for its OilGel(TM) topical delivery platform and has 22 additional patents pending. The Company was founded in January 2003 by CEO Dr. Dov Tamarkin, COO Mr. Meir Eini and Chief Technology Officer Dr. Doron Friedman. Foamix Ltd. is privately held company, whose business model is based on partnering with leading pharma and cosmetics companies to develop products utilizing its proprietary foam technology.
For additional information: www.foamix.co.il or Marjie Hadad, Media Liaison, Foamix, marjie@foamix.co.il; +972-54-536-5220.
Source: Foamix Ltd.
www.leo-pharma.com or Adam Estrup, Corporate Communications, LEO Pharma A/S, adam.estrup@leo-pharma.com, Tel: +45-72-26-23-53, www.foamix.co.il or Marjie Hadad, Media Liaison, Foamix, marjie@foamix.co.il; Tel: +972-54-536-5220
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