Atopis’ Eczema Therapy Cream has been seven years in the making, and will soon be sold online in the US after receiving approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA approval is a first for a New Zealand-developed, over-the-counter pharmaceutical skincare cream.

Clinical trials in the US and New Zealand showed the cream – which Atopis claims is “so natural you can eat it” (though that is obviously NOT recommended) – successfully treats eczema without containing any steroids, parabens, or solvents.

Much of the work in developing the cream was done by Bionona CEO Dr Iona Weir, an Auckland-based scientist. “It’s taken a long time to get here, but it is just so rewarding to know I have created a natural product that is scientifically proven to help people,” she explains. “Now we are going into America, it can help even more. The FDA accreditation is a coup for our company as well as for New Zealand.”

The cream itself is mainly made from native found in and around Waitakere. Some of those ingredients include bee pollen, coconut, honeydew and “beneficial” bacteria. According to Dr Weir, these ingredients combine to help with the natural cell repair process to treat topical skin conditions – a claim the FDA apparently sees as valid if its approval is anything to go by.

“I wanted to create something completely natural, but that could still get proven results from robust clinical tests on humans,” she explains. “We’ve gone through the world’s most rigorous clinical testing to prove that this is a natural product which actually works.

“By opening up to one of the biggest markets in the world, a New Zealand-made product can now help people treat their eczema with a clinically-proven, natural product. Eczema treatment is a multibillion-dollar market in the US, and we now have the opportunity to be part of it.”

The Atopis Eczema Therapy Cream will be available in the US online beginning in early 2018. It’ll be available alongside other Atopis products, which mainly treat skin conditions.