Sol-Gel acne cream reduces marks in late-stage studies, shares soar (updated)

SOL-GEL TECHNOLOGIES

30/12/2019 12:44

(Adds study details, share move)
    Dec 30  (Reuters) - Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd's  SLGL.O 
shares more than tripled in value on Monday after the company
said its lead acne drug candidate, Twyneo, met the main goal of
reducing marks in two late-stage studies.
    Twyneo is a once-daily topical non-antibiotic cream
containing a fixed-dose combination of encapsulated benzoyl
peroxide and tretinoin.
    The late-stage studies evaluated Twyneo in 858 patients aged
nine and above with moderate to severe acne when applied once
daily for 12 weeks. Neither studies reported drug-related
serious adverse events.
    Acne is a common skin disease that affects about 40 million
to 50 million people in the United States, according to the
American Academy of Dermatology.
    Benzoyl peroxide and tretinoin have been widely used
separately historically to treat acne. Twyneo is the first such
drug to combine the two components in the topical cream.
    Sol-Gel said it expects to submit a marketing application to
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the second half of 2020
and make Twyneo available to physicians and patients in the
second half of 2021.
    The company's shares jumped to $29.99 before the opening
bell.

 (Reporting by Trisha Roy and Shivani Singh in Bengaluru;
Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Maju Samuel)
 ((Trisha.Roy@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780,
outside U.S. +91 80 6749 7786;))