Herpes labialis, also called orofacial herpes, cold sore, or fever blister, is an infection of the lip or mouth area.  The primary infection can be caused by Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 (HSV-1) or HSV2. Recurrences with HSV-1 are common while those with HSV-2 are rare.  Herpes labialis is one of the most common infections throughout the world, affecting up to 90 percent of the U.S. population. Approximately 30 percent of those infected with the virus suffer from recurrent herpes labialis, defined as four herpetic episodes each year, on average, resulting in 360 million recurrent herpetic episodes each year. For the 90 million Americans with recurrent herpes labialis, these painful infections represent a persistent, embarrassing and highly contagious problem.

From the onset of symptoms, which can include a tingling sensation or pain, the typical life cycle of a cold sore outbreak is between seven to 14 days. In order to reduce the healing time of a lesion, it is critical to rapidly deliver an effective dose of antiviral medication as early as possible to the affected area. Currently available treatments are unable to achieve adequate drug concentrations in the affected area in a timely manner resulting in lack of palpable efficacy.

MACROESIS™ technology could push existing, registered, anti-viral agents into and through the skin to attack the virus quickly and painlessly. The result is a very efficacious localized treatment with no side effects delivered at a low cost.