Palette adds colour with Nestlé partnership

Palette Life Sciences, a Sweden-based gynaecological and skin therapy spinout of Karolinska Institute, picked up a licence from Nestlé Skin Health, a subsidiary of consumer products supplier Nestlé, on Monday.
The licence allows Palette to market three existing products based on Nestlé’s non-animal stablished hyaluronic acid (Nasha) technology, a reformulated version of hyaluronic acid, which has previously been used to tackle conditions including osteoarthritis and ageing skin.
Under the agreement, Palette gains rights to Deflux, an injectable gel treatment for vesicoureteral refluxes which affect a child’s urine draining system and Solesta, a bulking injection for faecal incontinence.
The products also include Barrigel, an implant which creates space between tumours and healthy adjacent organs to enable radiation-based oncological treatment.
Palette Life Sciences was formerly known as PharmaNest and was founded to develop a topical medication that reduces pain for women undergoing gynaecological procedures.
The drug, now branded Lidbree, remains in development at Palette and is expected to be submitted for European regulatory approval later in 2018.
Palette Life Sciences commercialises research co-led by Gunvor Ekman-Ordeberg, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology, and Lars Irestedt, an associate professor and anaesthesiologist.
Karolinska Development, the university’s commercialisation arm, currently owns a 10.4% stake in Palette Life Sciences having sold the rest of its equity in 2015 to investors including Östersjöstiftelsen, a foundation owned by Södertörn University, in return for an earn-out on revenues.
Praktikerinvest and Recipharm Venture Fund, respective corporate venturing subsidiaries of healthcare provider Praktikertjänst and drug services supplier Recipharm, also took part in the secondary transaction, which complemented a $940,000 direct investment in Palette by Recipharm.