Barcelona-based ISDIN launches U.S. derm products

ISDIN, a Barcelona-based dermatological solutions company, launched a handful of products in the U.S. in July and plans to expand its presence, as well as add a line of cosmeceuticals, before the close of 2016.

Robert D’Urso, M.B.A., head of U.S. operations ISDIN, in Morristown, N.J., says ISDIN has a 40-year track record in Spain and is the number one dermatology company within Spain, based on its market share of prescription sales, retail sales and over-the-counter sales, combined.

“About six years ago, ISDIN decided to take an international approach, expanding outside Spain into Europe and Latin America,” D’Urso says.

Entering the bigger markets became a must for the private company, which aspires to become a benchmark in skincare. So, in the last 24 months, ISDIN entered into the U.S. and China, he says.

Today, ISDIN has three reps in New York, New Jersey and Miami.

“Our goal is to build a national deployed sales force by the end of the year, with 20 to 30 reps nationally,” D’Urso says.

U.S. portfolio

ISDIN’s lead product in America, according to D’Urso, is the ultralight emulsion SPF 50 sun protection product Eryfontona Actinica. Priced at $50 for 3.4 oz., Eryfontona Actinica is 11 percent zinc oxide, in a cosmetically elegant base with the addition of photolyase and vitamin E. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2015 went to three researchers for their work in mechanisms of DNA repair, of which the enzyme photolyase was one.

The company is also promoting a hair density product line (Lambdapil), an over-the-counter line for psoriasis (Alsora) and an acne line (Acnisdin).

“[We have] a few other product lines that are supplemental to therapeutics. So, you’ll have a prescription product to treat the disease and then we have supplemental products such as a cleanser specific for psoriatic skin (Alsora) or a wash that’s specific for acne (Acnisdin),” he says. “In addition, we are very excited that in October-November of this year, we’re going to be launching a new cosmeceutical line called Isdinceutics.”

Isdinceutics will move away from commoditized cosmeceutical lines and toward more specialized skincare solutions, according to D’Urso.

“So, you won’t see an ISDIN product for general anti-aging, and it won’t be a cure-all. We’ll have a product in our line that is specific for under-eye dark circles [for example], and the technology in our under-eye dark circle product, will be very unique for that problem. We’ve challenged ourselves to design five or six products that are very unique for specific uses,” he says.

D’Urso says the company engages in clinical studies to support product value and usage. European product studies are available on the global website, but as of the filing of this story, U.S. specific product studies are not yet available on the U.S. website. Those should be up on a new healthcare portal soon, according to an ISDIN representative.

To find out more, go to Isdin.com or look for ISDN at the upcoming Fall Clinical Dermatology Conference in October in Las Vegas. In March AAD annual meeting in Orlando, Fla., you might also hear from a local representative in the near future.