Leo Pharma receives EU approval for actinic keratosis therapy

Leo Pharma's new therapy for actinic keratosis has received regulatory approval from the European Commission.

Picato gel is designed as a once-daily field-directed topical treatment for the common skin condition, which produces red, scaly lesions on the skin and can lead to the development of squamous cell carcinoma if left untreated.

Benefits of the therapy include the fact it only needs to be applied for two or three days, compared to one to four months for other topical treatments.

This convenience results in better patient adherence to the treatment regimen, with 98 percent of clinical trial subjects sticking with the Picato programme for its entire duration.

Gitte Aabo, chief executive officer of Leo Pharma, said: "Following approval in the US, the approval of Picato gel in the EU is another important step in our goal of helping people across the world achieve healthy skin."

This comes after the organisation announced last month that it will be restructuring its business models, workforce and investment strategy in order to achieve maximum efficiency.