Phosphagenics signs skincare deal in Korea

Phosphagenics Limited (ASX:POH) has signed a deal to supply its BioElixia range of skincare products to Korean Drug Company.

The agreement, an exclusive for the South Korean market, covers some 9,000 outlets in South Korea and Southeast Asia.

Drug delivery technology company Phosphagenics said it expects the first sales under the agreement to commence in Q3 of 2012.

Initial sales will be for the lead product in the Elixia range, anti-cellulite cream BodyShaper. Customers will include beauty salons, pharmacies and medical and dermatological clinics.

Korean Drug Company CEO Sanghun Park said the company expected there to be strong demand for BioElixia products in South Korea, stating that there is both strong demand for and a scarcity of effective slimming products in the market.

This is the second deal Phosphagenics' has announced in the APAC market this month. The company last week signed a pre-licensing agreement with Japan's Nippon Zoki Pharmaceutical covering non-steroidal pain formulation TPM/diclofenac.

The BioElixia range uses Phosphagenics' Targeted Penetration Matrix (TPM) delivery technology TPM/diclofenac and Phosphagenics lead product in clinical trials, chronic pain relief patch TPM/oxycodone, both use the same technology.

Recently announced data from trials of TPM/oxycodone indicate that the commercial candidate is up to 4.5 times more effective than Phosphagenics' original prototype model.

Phoshpagenics (ASX:POH) shares fell 4.44% in Thursday's trading to $0.215.