Oculus Innovative Sciences, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company that develops and markets solutions for the treatment of dermatological conditions and advanced tissue care, announced it has finalised a strategic collaborative agreement with the Lipogrid Company of Sweden to develop multiple topical drug delivery formulations based upon the company's Lipogrid Technology.

Thomas Skold, president of Lipogrid and inventor of the Lipogrid Technology said, "Oculus Innovative Sciences is rapidly establishing itself as an innovator in the world of dermatology with their efficacious and novel Microcyn-based dermatology products. This is a perfect example of delivery and reparative technologies coming together to dramatically improve patient outcomes."

Clinical testing has demonstrated that Lipogrid-based products deliver phospholipid building blocks to the dermis while protecting the skin. The first Lipogrid-based prescription product received FDA 510(k) clearance in November 2015.

"We've studied the market extensively in terms of identifying a delivery mechanism that would increase the efficacy of our skin technologies," said Jeffrey Day, president of IntraDerm Pharmaceuticals, Oculus' dermatology division. "The Lipogrid Technology is one of the most advanced and safest in the world and we look forward to harnessing this technology to amplify skin penetration and improve patient outcomes worldwide."

Lipogrid is a lipid structural matrix of solid lipid particles and vesicles comprised of fatty acids, cholesterol-type stabilizers, phospholipids and ceramides with a carrier function, used in the treatment of skin disorders.

Hypochlorous acid (HOCl), such as that found in Microcyn Technology, has been shown in non-clinical studies to kill bacteria, viruses, spores, and fungi through well-studied mechanisms of action, including denaturation, a process in which the structure of surface proteins on the microorganism are irreversibly changed or damaged. This results in the destruction of pathogen.

Human bodies have evolved over thousands of years to produce HOCl naturally to kill infection-causing microbes quickly and without presenting the opportunity for those pathogens to mutate and become resistant. Oculus believes it has chemically engineered its Microcyn Technology to mimic the body's natural response to unwanted organisms, without the undesirable side effects resulting from the overuse of antibiotics or steroids.