Dermasalve Sciences signs South African deal for sensitive skin products

DermaSalve Sciences, established in early 2006, specialise in products that contain no known skin sensitisers, detailed in the EU Cosmetics Directive. The company have a range of five moisturisers including formulations for the face hands, body, feet and heels, as well as a product specifically formulated for infants and babies. The company is to launch its set of moisturisers on the South African market in about six weeks time, following a successful test run of the products in March. The launch is the result of a deal with SekPharma, the Health Care subsidiary of Cape Town-based Sekunjalo investments. According to a company spokesperson, South Africa represents a perfect market for international expansion of the company as the country is English speaking and DermaSalve Sciences has strong links in the region to build on. In addition the company produce SafeCleanse, a hand cleansing product particularly designed for health care professionals, which can be used repeatedly without causing dryness. SafeCleanse's patented formula is highly effective in killing viruses, bacteria and fungi, including HIV, MRSA and avian flu, whilst minimising the skin damage associated with most alcohol products. The company recently announced a deal with New Horizons, a South African based sales and marketing organisation, with the aim of introducing the product into South Africa, followed by release in a further forty countries across the continent. The deal is hoped to bring up to £5 million (€7.3m) in sales revenue to DermaSalve Sciences in 2008, with significant increases hoped for future years. "This is a milestone agreement for DermaSalve and the SafeCleanse product and demonstrates our success in developing new high margin products for emerging markets"​ said Dr. Mark Randle, CEO of DermaSalve. For the moment the company is concentrating on launching its SafeCleanse product worldwide, targeting HIV in Africa, avian flu in Asia, and MRSA superbug in the UK, however tactical launches of its moisturising products, that take advantage of the resulting strong geographical presence, remain a possibility. Product launches from smaller European based companies on the African market are particularly rare; successful deals such as that between New Horizon and DermaSalve, may point to potential for growth in this emerging market.