SkinBioTherapeutics plc

("SkinBioTherapeutics" or "the Company")

Final testing of SkinBiotix by Croda Beauty Care completed,
with positive results

·    Meeting with Croda Beauty Care team confirms positive study results which provide validation of efficacy and marketing claims for commercialisation team

·    Next steps - updating marketing and technical dossiers, and manufacturing process, then samples to be sent to Croda Beauty Care's cosmetics customers

·    Additional terms based on new data for commercialisation and licensing agreement to be finalised with SkinBioTherapeutics before year end

19 September 2024 - SkinBioTherapeutics plc (AIM: SBTX), a life science company focused on skin health, announces that the management received positive feedback from Croda's Beauty Care division which includes the Sederma team (Croda), based on the final testing of the SkinBiotix™ technology. According to Croda, the additional data will be used to validate efficacy and marketing claims to its customers.

SkinBioTherapeutics has a commercial and manufacturing agreement with Croda signed in November 2019. In October 2023, Croda extended its contract with SkinBioTherapeutics by 12 months, in order to run additional studies on the SkinBiotix technology. The aim was to investigate previously unseen beneficial properties which could enhance SkinBiotix's commercial potential with the cosmetics industry.

Croda has now shared the conclusions of this testing with the SkinBioTherapeutics leadership team. The conclusions of its studies are all positive although no details will be released publicly due to the highly sensitive and competitive nature of the cosmetics market, as is normal industry practice.

The full technical dossier is now in the process of being completed with the new data and will then be passed onto the Croda marketing and sales teams, to plan commercialisation.  Pilot-scale manufacturing at 600 litre scale is currently in progress and will generate the final product into samples which will be shared with a few key customers prior to launch.  Full-scale production is scheduled for 2025.

The formal launch of SkinBiotix as an active ingredient is planned to take place at In-Cosmetics Global, the world's largest cometic ingredients exhibition, taking place in Amsterdam (April 8-10, 2025).

Based on the original agreement, SkinBioTherapeutics will be paid tiered royalties based on global sales revenues on any licensed products derived from the partnership which will be subsequently agreed on successful development of the technology. In addition, any concurrent testing in focussed application areas was to be detailed in further, additional commercial agreements; the aim is to conclude these subsequent discussions before the end of the year.

Sales and distribution rights are for the cosmetic sector alone, leaving SkinBioTherapeutics to focus on further applications of its technology in other sectors.

Dr Surinder Chahal, Cosmetic Science / Customer Alliances Advisor to SkinBioTherapeutics (formerly VP Customer Alliances Technology Development at Croda), added:

"One of the reasons I joined SkinBioTherapeutics from Croda was that I saw the benefits of the SkinBiotix technology and its potential impact on the skin healthcare sector. From the feedback we received from the Croda team, I am delighted that my predictions are correct. Obviously, the metrics and specifics from the study won't be released publicly since this is highly commercially sensitive information that belongs to Croda. However, from the conclusions drawn, we are pleased about how the technology performed and confident about next steps."

Stuart Ashman, CEO of SkinBioTherapeutics, said:

"The meeting with the Croda team was very positive in my view. The extension to the original process has proven to be worthwhile with respect to the results from the further studies. The next step will be to finalise any additional points to the original commercial agreement based on these new data. We will relay to shareholders any updates from these negotiations as soon as possible." 

-Ends-

The information communicated in this announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014.

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Notes to Editors

About SkinBioTherapeutics plc

SkinBioTherapeutics is a life science company focused on skin health. The Company's proprietary platform technology, SkinBiotix®, is based upon discoveries made by the translational dermatology team at the University of Manchester.

The Company is targeting a number of skin healthcare sectors, the most advanced of which are cosmetic skincare and food supplements to modulate the immune system by harnessing the gut-skin axis. In each area SkinBioTherapeutics plans to exemplify its technology through human studies. The Company's first product, AxisBiotix-Ps™, a food supplement to address the symptoms of mild to moderate psoriasis.

The Company listed on AIM in April 2017 and is based in Newcastle, UK. For more information, visit: www.skinbiotherapeutics.com.