Dermatology medicines built for consistency, not compromise.
Forterra Labs manufactures prescription dermatology therapies with tighter release controls, stronger packaging discipline, and a 214-point quality program designed to keep every batch consistent from line to pharmacy shelf.
Built around the prescriptions dermatologists write every day
A deliberately narrow portfolio: every marketed strength of the molecules dermatologists reach for first, each made on a dedicated line.
From our current catalog
The measure of a medicine is its repeatability
A cream is a promise that the last gram in the tube behaves like the first. These are the numbers we hold ourselves to.
Research materials for qualified laboratories.
Peptide listings are for qualified laboratory research only, not for human or veterinary use. Checkout is not yet available.
- Research use only. Not intended for human or veterinary use.
- Indicative pricing. Single-vial estimates use supplier box-of-10 starting prices plus about $20 per vial, rounded up to a $5 increment.
- Checkout unavailable. Orders and payments cannot be submitted yet.
How orders move
Looking for a reliable supply partner?
Dermatology clinics, hospital pharmacies, and national distributors work with Forterra Labs for dependable volumes and audit-ready documentation on every lot.
Talk to our teamMedicines in current production
Every listing below is an authorized, marketed medicine, with all of its concentrations on one page — choose the strength you need and add it directly to the cart.
Research-use-only peptide catalog
Browse research materials for qualified laboratories only. Products are not intended for human or veterinary use. Prices are estimates derived from supplier box-of-10 starting prices, rounded for single vials. Checkout is not yet available.
Thirty-two years of doing the unglamorous things well
Forterra Labs was founded in 1994 by two hospital pharmacists who kept seeing the same problem: essential skin medicines going out of stock not for lack of science, but for lack of manufacturing discipline.
What we believe
The medicines that treat most skin disease are not new. They are tretinoin, tazarotene, azelaic acid, and hydroquinone — molecules proven over decades. Our work is to make them perfectly, every time, at a price health systems can sustain.
That conviction shapes everything here: we would rather run one validated line at full discipline than ten lines at tolerable risk. Our release rate, our audit history, and our supply record are the proof.
- 1994
Founded in Basel
First license granted for semi-solid manufacturing; a single cream-and-ointment line in a rented hall.
- 2003
First WHO GMP certification
Opened supply to international tenders and humanitarian procurement programs.
- 2012
Retinoid suite
Commissioned a light-protected filling suite for tretinoin and other photo-sensitive actives.
- 2019
Full serialization
Unit-level traceability across all markets, two years ahead of mandate.
- 2026
Four sites, 48 markets
140 million packs a year across retinoid, pigment, and hair-loss therapy — with the same release standard as 1994.
Three rules we don't negotiate
The batch record is sacred
If it isn't documented, it didn't happen. Every deviation is investigated to root cause, however small, and closed before release.
Supply is a clinical outcome
A stock-out is a missed dose somewhere. We hold 26 weeks of strategic inventory on WHO-essential molecules.
Price with a straight face
We publish list prices, honor long-term contracts through raw-material swings, and never reprice against a shortage.
The people accountable for every lot
We don't chase molecules. We perfect them.
Forterra Labs' R&D program focuses on topical formulation science: making proven retinoids and depigmenting agents more stable, better tolerated, and manufacturable at scale — plus a measured pipeline of complex topical generics.
0
scientists and analysts across two development centers
0%
of revenue reinvested into formulation and process R&D
0
dossiers filed with regulators in the last 24 months
Current programs
Program codes are internal; all candidates are reformulations or complex topical generics of established molecules.
| Program | Therapeutic area | Objective | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|
| VLR-251 | Retinoids | Micro-encapsulated tretinoin with reduced irritation | Registration |
| VLR-257 | Pigment correction | Fluocinolone + hydroquinone + tretinoin triple-combination cream | Pivotal BE study |
| VLR-263 | Retinoids | Tazarotene 0.045% lotion for large-area application | Scale-up |
| VLR-229 | Azelaic acid | Azelaic acid 20% foam for scalp and beard area | Formulation lock |
| VLR-246 | Retinoids | Photo-stabilized tretinoin in airless, light-opaque packaging | Pre-formulation |
Quality by design, not by inspection
Every program starts from the patient-relevant attributes — in-vitro release behavior, content uniformity, stability in real climates — and works backwards to a process designed to hit them. By the time a product reaches the line, its critical parameters have been mapped, challenged, and locked.
- ICH Q8–Q11 development framework on every dossier
- Zone IVb stability testing — 30 °C / 75% RH — as the default, not the exception
- Continuous manufacturing pilots for two high-volume cream lines
Development centers
214 checks between raw material and release
Quality at Forterra Labs is not a department that inspects at the end. It is the operating system the whole plant runs on.
How a batch earns its certificate
Incoming control
Every API and excipient lot is identity-tested and assayed against pharmacopoeial monographs before it enters the warehouse.
In-process control
Viscosity, fill weight, and homogeneity sampled continuously on the line; drift triggers an automatic hold.
Finished-product testing
Assay, in-vitro release, impurities, and microbial limits run in our own ISO 17025-accredited laboratories.
Qualified Person release
A legally accountable QP reviews the complete batch record and certifies release — or doesn't.
Numbers we report to every auditor
- 99.97% right-first-time release across all dosage forms, trailing 12 months
- Zero critical findings in the last 11 regulatory inspections
- Median 9-day CAPA closure on minor deviations, root cause documented
- 100% electronic batch records with ALCOA+ data-integrity controls
Laboratory capability
In-house, ISO/IEC 17025-accredited
Audit us. We mean it.
Qualified customers and regulators can request our site master file, latest inspection summaries, and a supplier audit slot through our compliance office.
Request audit documentationCredentials, in writing
Current certifications held by Forterra Labs manufacturing and distribution sites. Certificates are available to qualified partners on request.
EU GMP
Good Manufacturing Practice certification for semi-solid and liquid topical dosage forms.
Sites: Basel · ŁódźFDA-registered facility
US FDA establishment registration with routine cGMP surveillance inspections.
Site: BaselWHO GMP
Prequalification-track GMP standing for supply into international tenders and aid programs.
Sites: Basel · HyderabadISO 9001:2015
Certified quality management system covering manufacturing, development, and distribution.
Group-wideISO/IEC 17025
Accredited in-house analytical and microbiological laboratories.
QC labs, all sitesGDP certification
Good Distribution Practice for ambient and 2–8 °C cold-chain logistics.
Distribution networkCompliance commitments
- Serialization. Unit-level traceability under EU FMD and US DSCSA on 100% of packs.
- Pharmacovigilance. 24/7 adverse-event intake with a qualified medical officer on call; signals reported within statutory timelines.
- Batch integrity. Every shipment is tracked to a verified production lot, inspection record, and serialized pack history.
- Data integrity. ALCOA+ principles enforced through validated electronic systems with full audit trails.
Document requests
- Site master filePer site, current revision
- GMP certificatesAll active certificates
- Certificate of analysisAny released batch
- Stability summariesPer SKU, zones II / IVb
Documents are released to verified business partners and regulators after a confidentiality check.
Talk to a human who knows the product
Commercial inquiries, pharmacist questions, document requests, and pharmacovigilance reports each reach a dedicated desk.