Foamix Ltd. and Warner Chilcott Company Inc. (Nasdaq:CRWX) have signed an agreement to jointly develop an antibiotic foam for the treatment of acne. The product will be based on an oral antibiotic treatment for which no company has yet been able to create effectively in an ointment or local form.

Foamix told “Globes” today that it has already developed a preliminary foam version for spreading, and it believes that it will succeed where other companies have failed.

Warner Chilcott will initially pay Foamix several hundred thousand dollars to finance product development. Warner Chilcott will be responsible for obtaining product approval, licensing and marketing. If the product succeeds, the joint development agreement will become a licensing agreement, and Foamix will receive payments on the basis of milestones, as well as royalties. Foamix says its product will come on the market in 2010 or 2011.

The US acne treatment market alone amounts to $1 billion a year.

Foamix CEO Dr. Dov Tamarkin said, “We are very proud to partner with an industry leader such as Warner Chilcott. Foam offers properties that increase usability, encourage compliance and boost user satisfaction. Foamix foams are alcohol-free and able to effectively deliver a broad range of actives.”

Foamix is developing a range of foam-based treatments. The company has joint development agreements with ten dermatology development companies, although none of the agreements is for an acne treatment. The company’s partners include LEO Pharma A/S of Denmark, Stiefel Laboratories Inc. of the US, and Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TAROF.PK) and Trima Israel Pharmaceutical Products Maabarot Ltd.of Israel.

Foamix expects to become profitable soon on the basis of milestone payments from its partners, even though no product is yet on the market. Foamix’s first product, BabyFoamix, due on the market in a few months, will be a foam treatment for diaper rash jointly developed with Trima. Foamix has said that it plans to go public on Nasdaq.