Croma-Pharma announced that it will launch Pliaglis(R), a topical local anaesthetic for superficial dermatological procedures, in its European core markets including Germany, the United Kingdom ("UK"), and Ireland. Further markets including Brazil will follow by the end of 2023. The anaesthetic cream complements Croma's range of aesthetic injectables, a key pillar of its comprehensive and innovative aesthetics portfolio.

The launch is preceded by an exclusive licensing agreement for Pliaglis(R) with Canadian dermatology company Crescita Therapeutics Inc. ("Crescita"). The agreement grants Croma the exclusive rights to commercialize Pliaglis in nine countries including Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, the UK and Netherlands and Brazil. Specifically designed and licensed for anaesthetic needs in aesthetic medicine, Pliaglis®?

is applied by the medical professional before a wide range of minimally invasive aesthetic procedures such as dermal filler or laser treatments, to provide effective and long-lasting local dermal anaesthesia to protect the patient and minimise pain. Pliaglis is a topical local anaesthetic cream that provides safe and effective local dermal anaesthesia on intact skin prior to dermatological procedures. The formulation contains a eutectic mixture of 7% lidocaine and 7% tetracaine that utilizes Crescita's proprietary phase-changing topical cream Peel technology.

The Peel technology consists of a drug-containing cream which, once applied to a patient's skin, dries to form a pliable layer that releases drug into the skin. Pliaglis is applied to intact skin for 20 to 30 minutes prior to superficial dermal filler injections, non-ablative laser facial resurfacing, or pulsed-dye laser therapy and 60 minutes prior to procedures such as laser-assisted tattoo removal. Following the application period, the pliable layer is easily removed from the skin allowing the procedure to be performed with minimal to no pain.

In clinical studies, the mean duration of anesthesia has been shown to be in the range of 7 to 9 hours after the application of Pliaglis.