DRJ will be using the delivery system to extend its range of 'Stopain' products with a new cream formulation incorporating Skinvisible's Invisicare delivery technology.
Adding Invisicare to the product will significantly extend the period of time the product stays on the skin, stretching to four hours or more, allowing prolonged on-going relief for patients suffering from muscle-stiffness, arthritis or muscle strains.
The Invisicare group of polymeric delivery vehicles combine hydrophilic and hydrophobic polymers into stable complexes in water emulsions.
The formula is designed for water-based creams and lotions to carry water-insoluble active ingredients without the use of alcohol, silicones, waxes or other organic solvents.
The resulting product bonds active ingredients to the skin and is resistant to wash-off, delivering targeted levels of therapeutic agents directly onto the skin.
The Invisicare range is available in a number of formulations of synthetic and natural polymers, with different specifications to meet the requirements of specific active ingredients.
Products can be formulated as creams, lotions or sprays.
When applied to the skin, products formulated using the Invisicare polymers adhere to the skin's outer layers forming a long-lasting protective bond.
According to Skinvisible, the product can allow enhanced delivery performance with improved efficacy, longer duration of action and require a lower dose of active ingredient.
The sustained release also has implications for patient compliance, by allowing fewer applications with lower frequency without compromising therapeutic efficacy.
DRJ will be using the Invisicare technology to expand its offerings in its Stopain range of over-the-counter (OTC) topical pain relievers, further strengthening its position in the $250m (€185m) topical analgesic market.
"By including Invisicare, we are offering our customers a product that is different from anything else currently on the market," said Robert Miller, CEO of DRJ.
"We expect this advantage to be well received by both the trade and the customer."
Skinvisible received its second US patent for the Invisicare polymer delivery technology in January 2006, covering the composition of the Invisicare delivery system.
The company had already been granted a patent relating to manufacturing method, and has a third patent covering 'Methods of Use' currently pending.
The company's business model focuses on licensing its technology and proprietary Invisicare formulations to manufacturers of prescription and OTC products in the pharmaceutical and cosmeceutical industries.