Maruho Co., Ltd. Acquires Cutanea Life Sciences, Inc.

OSAKA, Japan, Feb. 13, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mr. Koichi Takagi, President and CEO of Maruho Co., Ltd, headquartered in Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan, announced today the acquisition of Cutanea Life Sciences (CLS), a privately held dermatology development company based in Villanova, Pennsylvania USA. CLS will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Maruho. Mr. Takagi stated that the acquisition of CLS represents an important step in building Maruho's infrastructure and capabilities in the United States. 

Maruho is a leader in the development and commercialization of dermatological products in Japan. With the acquisition of CLS, Maruho expects to leverage CLS's expertise in drug development and benefit from CLS' network in the U.S. dermatology market. Maruho intends to further enhance its development pipeline in the U.S. and effectively utilize both organizations' strengths to promote new development projects and strengthen human resource capabilities to eventually create a fully integrated marketing-development dermatology company in the U.S.

Both Maruho and CLS share a common purpose to provide innovative solutions to treat unmet medical needs in the dermatology space. Mr. Takagi, Maruho's CEO stated, "The CLS acquisition offers Maruho a unique opportunity to establish a foundation in the United States leveraging experienced management and a viable product pipeline." Robert Bitterman, President and CEO of CLS, remarked, "Maruho brings a unique strategic vision along with a commitment to capital infusion into the United States, critically important to helping advance dermatology practice in the U.S. 

About Maruho Co., Ltd.

Maruho, established in 1915 in Osaka, Japan, is committed to advancing "Excellence in Dermatology". Maruho's long term vision aims to provide innovative pharmaceutical products to treat a variety of skin diseases in the global market place.

About Cutanea Life Sciences, Inc.

CLS, founded in 2005 is an early stage development company specializing in novel patent-protected pharmaceuticals to treat skin diseases. CLS currently has three novel proprietary technology programs in development designed to offer alternative treatment approaches for several unmet medical conditions including rosacea and HPV (warts).