- Drug delivery platform ideal for M&A-driven growth
- $80 billion global dermatology market
- $30 billion global over-the-counter skincare market
- Half of the 100 million surgeries performed in the U.S. require post-surgical pain medication, according to Transparency Market Research report
If history repeats itself, as we are often told, then Skinvisible, Inc.’s (OTCQB: SKVI) proposed deal with Quoin Pharmaceuticals Limited (“Quoin”) could increase shareholder value after execution. In late 2017, the company announced its plan to merge with Quoin, a marriage made in heaven that combines Skinvisible’s virtues as a drug delivery developer with Quoin’s position as a producer of post-surgical pain products that replace or diminish opioid use (http://ibn.fm/GEuCN). Over the past two decades, mergers in the pharmaceutical industry have generally resulted in positive returns to shareholders, and today’s market leaders are the ones that have been most active in mergers and acquisitions.
There are many reasons why a merger may make sense. Taking over a rival, for example, means acquiring that rival’s market share and most, if not all, of its revenues. If product lines or business divisions overlap, costs can be cut and synergies exploited. In addition, purchasing a rival or merging with one may mean the acquisition of exciting new products at a much-reduced cost. It may cost the acquirer less to buy the target (and its product line) than to attempt to develop similar products in-house. Also, borrowing costs matter. If interest rates are low and likely to rise, now might be the time to borrow and spend. These are all good rationales for corporate consolidations. However, ‘growth is the main driver for most M&A deals: not just growth in drug distribution scale or earnings growth through cost cutting, but in revenues—and especially share price’, according to McKinsey & Company (http://ibn.fm/7sWhQ).
Skinvisible is ideally poised to grow by acquisition, since its core business revolves around a drug delivery methodology that’s applicable to a wide range of topical products. Such ‘platform companies’ have a bright future, since they are enablers rather than competitors to other drug companies. Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, the founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, opined, ‘“platform companies”—those that grow through bolt-on acquisitions—enrich their shareholders with each new deal…’ (http://ibn.fm/LdErS). If that is to be believed, there’s little doubt that Skinvisible is treading the right path.
Since 1999, pharmaceutical and cosmeceutical companies have been adopting Skinvisible’s Invisicare® technology, developed through wholly-owned subsidiary Skinvisible Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The technology can be used to revitalize or create new medical or skincare products, allowing a company that licenses Skinvisible’s formulations to sell its own patented product and combat generic competitors.
Products utilizing Invisicare have been effective at bonding active ingredients to the skin for up to four hours and longer. Invisicare is non-occlusive; it allows normal skin respiration and perspiration while moisturizing and protecting against exposure from a wide variety of environmental irritants. When topically applied, products formulated with Invisicare adhere to the skin’s outer layers, forming a protective bond, resisting wash-off and delivering targeted levels of therapeutic or cosmetic skincare agents to the skin. This allows enhanced delivery performance for a variety of topicals resulting in improved efficacy, longer duration of action, reduced irritation and lower dosage of active agents required. The ‘invisible’ polymer compositions that make up Invisicare wear off as part of the natural exfoliation process that removes the skin’s outer layer of cells.
With a $80 billion global dermatology market and a $30 billion global over-the-counter skincare market, the patented polymer delivery system for topical products developed by Skinvisible has a great deal of potential to add shareholder value.
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Skinvisible.com
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