Phosphagenics completes enrolment in acne trial

Phosphagenics (ASX:POH) has completed enrolment for a phase II trial of an acne treatment candidate that uses its TPM transdermal drug delivery technology.

The company is using the three-month trial to compare the efficacy of a TPM formulation of topical acne drug tretinoin against a commercial tretinoin formulation.

The randomised, double-blind trial will involve 54 patients across three trial sites in Perth, Brisbane and Hamilton, New Zealand. Phosphagenics said it expects to be able to announce results from the study in the third quarter.

Tretinoin is the one of the most commonly prescribed topical acne drugs, but it causes adverse skin irritation in a number of patients. As a result, commercial acne products often use a sub-optimal amount of the ingredient, reducing the effect.

“Dermatological products, and particularly those with active ingredients that need to penetrate deeply into the skin but cause irritation, lend themselves perfectly to [TPM] technology,” Phosphagenics CEO Harry Rosen commented.

“The size of the acne market and the low cost of registering dermatological products justifies the allocation of our expertise and efforts in this area.”

The global acne market is worth an estimated $3 billion annually and the market for tretinoin is around $200 million per year in the US alone, he said.

Phosphagenics (ASX:POH) shares were trading unchanged at $0.091 as of around 2 pm on Thursday.