A small Scottish medical technology firm has secured a major deal to supply its innovative acne treatment device to 200 Boots stores.
In 2004, Ambicare Health spun out of the respective medical schools at Dundee and St Andrews universities with the purpose of developing and commercialising ambulatory light sources to provide photodynamic therapy.
The firm was originally set up to develop phototherapy treatments for skin cancers but its primary focus is now on the much larger market for acne treatments.
The company which is based at the Alba Innovation Centre at Livingston has now received a major boost after its hand-held Lustre device was picked up by high street chemist Boots.
The product was originally trialled online and proved such a hit that it has now secured shelf space in 200 of the chain’s outlets nationwide.
Ambicare chief executive officer Paul Donnelly said the Boots listing was a landmark moment for the firm and said he hoped it heralded even bigger things for the company.
“The product came out of Ninewells Hospital and St Andrews medical school. That is where the technology was born and where Ambicare was first incorporated as a company,” Mr Donnelly said.
“The original business plan many years ago was that melanoma skin cancer would be the company’s focus.
“But three or four years ago it was clear that the size of that opportunity was completely dwarfed by the opportunity in acne, which is a much more widely occurring condition.”
Mr Donnelly said the company’s products had been placed in a network of more than 300 clinics in recent years and said Ambicare’s heightened profile had led to the “dance with Boots” that had resulted in its new commerciallisting.
He said: “We went live on Boots.com in April of this year and throughout the past three-and-a-half to four months our product has become the top selling product in the category for acne devices and the best rated product.
“That has led to us getting into the top 200 Boots stores across the UK and over the course of August and September we are training staff in store about our product.”
Mr Donnelly, who was in Dundee at the weekend to oversee the product roll-out at Boots on Reform Street, said Ambicare’s projections for the supply deal meant Lustre was on track to become a £1 million brand within Boots stores alone.