Acne may have met its match! Valeant Pharmaceuticals North America LLC’s division, Medicis, announced today the winners of the first annual I Acanya®Succeed scholarship program. The program is an education-based initiative that provides scholarships to college students who have taken an active role in managing their acne. They submitted a compelling video essay depicting how their personal struggles with acne were helped by the care of a dermatologist. Students were also required to include two letters of recommendation and information about their school and community activities.

Three winners who represented the three regions of the country, were selected to receive up to $48,000 each to use for college tuition. The three winners are recent high school graduates who will attend the following universities in the fall of 2013; Duke, New York University (NYU), and University of Wisconsin.

“Medicis salutes the winners of the first annual I Acanya Succeed scholarship program, which demonstrates our commitment to improving the lives of young people through education,” said Ryan Weldon, President, Medicis. “It is our goal to inform and help guide patients who may be needlessly suffering from acne, a highly treatable condition when managed by a medical professional.”

Each year, an estimated 40 to 50 million Americans are affected by acne vulgaris, a condition that affects over 85% of teenagers and often continues into their 20’s and 30’s. Fortunately, acne is a treatable condition, one that often does not require complex treatment regimens, and companies like Meidicis is trying to get that word out.

“The video essays submitted by this year’s I Acanya Succeed scholarship winners underscore the impact of acne among teens, while highlighting that the condition remains under-treated, as effective solutions for acne can be elusive for people trying to self-treat without a physician’s counsel,” said Tage Ramakrishna, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Valeant Pharmaceuticals. “As the winners’ videos show, it is important to raise awareness among teens and young adults that effective therapies are available, and that an individualized treatment plan can be very effective.”

Medicis markets Acanya (clindamycin phosphate and benzoyl peroxide) Gel, 1.2%/2.5% for the topical treatment of acne vulgaris in patients 12 years of age and older. They created the I Acanya Succeed Scholarship program to educate students about the need to work with a dermatologist to manage acne. It was also created to empower students by providing some financial assistance to obtain a college education.

Image via wikipedia