Quebec-based Advitech acquired the rights for Dermylex in 2003 and has since taken it through further clinical trials. The company has recently announced various distribution agreements, but according to the company this agreement will prepare for the introduction of Dermylex in other Asian markets such as Mainland China. ENBIO will also start a clinical study on Dermylex(TM) in the first half of 2007.
The growing Asian nutraceutical market is an attractive target for companies looking to cash in on the population base of countries such as China, where sky rocketing gross domestic product is translating into increased purchasing power.
Psoriasis is an immune system disorder that has no cure. Until now those with mild to medium forms of the condition have had to resort to topical therapies or aggressive drug treatments with significant side effects.
Dermylex is a patented blend of naturally derived bioactive peptides that comes in the form of a tablet to be taken orally.
Throughout the research and development phase, Dermylex was known as XP-828L. Advitech then acquired the rights to develop the nutraceutical through an agreement with French firm Pierre Jouan Biotechnologie.
Advitech originally hoped to roll out Dermylex by the end of 2004, but decided to delay whilst it carried out a program of placebo-controlled clinical trials, the results of which are expected to give the product weight with dermatologists, as well as with natural products suppliers.
Its patience paid off in July when the results of a 112-day phase II, multi-center, placebo-controlled, double-blind study involving 84 patients were announced, confirming its safety and efficacy for sufferers of mild to moderate psoriasis.
As part of a market test program, Jamieson Laboratories has been distributing Dermylex in some drugstores and pharmacies in Quebec City and Toronto since April 2006.
Advitech also announced it has just signed an agreement in principle with Associated Medical Supplies Company from Hong Kong for distribution of Dermylex in the Hong Kong and Macao markets. And the company is still continuing negotiations with other partners in other countries to expand distribution and accelerate its sales program for 2007.
The company believes Dermylex could also benefit sufferers of other immune-related conditions. Positive results of a pre-clinical study into the nutraceutical's use for inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn's disease and autoimmune colitis, were announced last year.
Advitech, founded in 1997 in Quebec, specializes in the development of clinically tested bioactive ingredients for chronic immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.