Neribas

Neribas is a range of plain, unmedicated skin-care bases sold in three textures: a cream, an ointment and a water-free fatty ointment. It is intended to be used on its own or alternately with prescribed skin medicines, and its leaflets describe it as skin care for normal and sensitive skin and for aftercare once a skin condition has healed. No launch year for the range is documented.

The brand has changed hands more than once. Older package leaflets name the Berlin pharmaceutical company Intendis as its maker [4], and in 2020 the Swedish company Karo Pharma, today Karo Healthcare, completed its purchase of Neribas from the Danish dermatology group LEO Pharma as part of a larger portfolio deal [1]. Neribas is therefore best understood today as an acquired brand inside Karo's over-the-counter portfolio rather than an independent business.

Little is on public record about how Neribas began. No founder, founding story or launch date has been published. The earliest traceable owner is Intendis GmbH, whose address at Max-Dohrn-Straße in Berlin appears on undated package leaflets for the cream, ointment and fatty ointment [4][5]. One of these leaflet editions also names Jenapharm GmbH & Co. KG of Jena as the distributor [4].

Those leaflets predate both the LEO Pharma and Karo eras, so the Berlin address reflects a past manufacturer rather than a current headquarters. How the brand moved from Intendis to LEO Pharma has not been publicly documented.

Neribas reached its current owner through a single portfolio transaction. On 23 December 2019, Karo Pharma signed an agreement to buy an intimate-care and dermatology portfolio from LEO Pharma for 90 million euros. Competition authorities approved the deal on 20 February 2020, and the acquisition was completed on 2 March 2020 [1]. According to Karo's announcement, the package included six dermatology products, mainly sold over the counter: Ultrabas, Ultralip, Ultraphil, Ultrasicc, Neribas and Ultralan [1].

The timing is not reported identically everywhere. A January 2020 article in the German pharmacy trade publication APOTHEKE ADHOC dated the 90-million-euro LEO Pharma purchase, which it described as four haemorrhoid products and six dermatology products, to 2018 [2]. That article does not name Neribas individually. Karo's own regulatory disclosure gives the signing as December 2019 and completion as March 2020, and this article follows the company's dates.

The buyer itself was in a phase of rapid expansion. APOTHEKE ADHOC described Karo Pharma as a Swedish company founded in 1987 that had bought the Swedish manufacturer BioPhausia in 2016 and the Norwegian company Weifa in 2017, and noted that the private equity firm EQT had taken a majority stake in early 2019 [2]. The same report said Karo was building a sales organisation for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Within the Karo Healthcare group, Neribas sits alongside other skin and personal-care brands such as Apobase, Decubal and Stop 24.

Neribas is built around the idea of a neutral base rather than an active treatment. The older leaflets call it "pure medical skin care" and say it was developed by dermatologists [4]. They present three forms matched to different skin states, and suggest using Neribas between applications of prescribed topical medicines, as a preventive layer when the skin faces heavy strain, and as a base that a doctor can use when preparing compounded medicines.

The leaflets list typical triggers as chemicals, washing-up and cleaning products, frequent hand washing, and too much sunbathing. They also describe the range as gentle enough for baby skin.

The three Neribas textures differ mainly in how much water and fat they contain. The leaflets match each one to a different skin condition. All three are built on petrolatum (petroleum jelly) and liquid paraffin, according to the ingredient lists printed in the leaflets.

- Neribas Creme is the lightest form. The leaflets give it roughly 70 percent water and 30 percent fat and describe it as cooling and non-greasy. They recommend it for very oily (seborrhoeic) skin, for exposed areas such as the face and hands, and for hairy areas such as the armpits. Its stated pH is 6.5, give or take 0.5. - Neribas Salbe (ointment) is the middle option, with about 35 percent water and 65 percent fat. The leaflet says its emulsion structure stops heat building up under the product, and recommends it for skin that is neither weeping nor very dry. - Neribas Fettsalbe (fatty ointment) contains no water at all. It leaves a protective film intended to keep chapped skin from becoming rough and cracked, and the leaflet suggests it for chronic dry conditions and for use under a dressing.

The leaflets are open about one ingredient difference. Only the cream contains preservatives, methylparaben and propylparaben, and the leaflets warn that these parabens can occasionally cause allergic reactions in people prone to them [4][5]. The ointment and fatty ointment contain no parabens. The range has been sold in 30 ml and 100 ml tubes as well as 500 ml tubs [5].

No third-party certifications, patents or clinical studies for Neribas have been published.

Neribas is no longer an independent brand. It was acquired by Karo Pharma, now Karo Healthcare, from LEO Pharma in 2020 [1], and it continues to be sold under Karo ownership. As of October 2026, an online pharmacy listing for Neribas Salbe named Karo Healthcare GmbH as the manufacturer [3]. No recent product launches or news coverage specific to Neribas have been reported.