Phosphagenics gets ethics nod for acne trial

Phosphagenics (ASX:POH) has received ethics approval to commence an Australian phase II trial of acne treatment candidate Tretinoin/TPM.

The company now expects to complete recruitment for the 45-patient study in the fourth quarter. It will be conducted across two trial sites - Linear Clinical Research in Perth and Specialist Connect in Brisbane.

Tretinoin/TPM is a formulation of retinoic acid - a form of Vitamin A - which uses Phosphagenics’ Targeted Penetration Matrix (TPM) transdermal drug delivery technology.

The trial will compare the efficacy of Tretinoin/TPM against current market leader Retin-A, as well as a placebo TPM formulation.

Phosphagenics believes its formulation of retinoic acid has the potential to reduce irritation compared to conventional treatments - a side effect reported by nearly 90% of patients prescribed the drug.

Phosphagenics’ main focus remains its pain products, including opioid patches TPM/oxymorphone and TPM/oxycodone as well as TPM/diclofenac, which is licensed to Themis and Novartis India.

But the company recently announced plans to also pursue opportunities for its TPM technology in the dermatology segment, due to the reduced expense, risk and time to market involved in commercialising products in this field.

Phosphagenics shares were trading unchanged at $0.11 as of around 12.30 pm on Monday.