PHARMETRA

PHARMETRA is a German dermatological skincare brand based in Herne. It was founded in 1990 by the dermatologist Dr. med. Ulrich Matthes and his brother, the pharmacist Wolfhard Matthes [2]. The company itself writes its name as Phametra, and its registered legal name is Phametra – Pharma und Medica-Trading GmbH [7]. Its range centres on urea ointments, fragrance-free body and hand care, intimate-care creams for women and high-protection sunscreens, all developed and made in Germany.

The brand grew out of clinical dermatology rather than the cosmetics industry. Its best-known product, a 10 percent urea ointment, was developed as supportive care for patients being treated for psoriasis. Today the business is family-run, led by Julia Matthes, the widow of its founding dermatologist, and its products are sold mainly through pharmacies, medical practices and the company's own online shop.

According to the company's history, Phametra GmbH was set up in Herne in 1990 by two brothers with complementary professions: Ulrich Matthes, a dermatologist, and Wolfhard Matthes, a pharmacist [2]. Ulrich Matthes had worked for many years as a dermatologist and senior physician at St. Josef-Hospital in Bochum, and the company says he fed this clinical experience into product development from the start, with the stated aim of creating dermatological products shaped around what patients actually needed.

The company's own pages do not always tell the founding story the same way. The detailed history on its "About" page names both brothers as founders [2]. The homepage, by contrast, quotes a dermatologist adviser who refers to Ulrich Matthes alone as "Gründer von Phametra" (founder of Phametra), and the opening of the "About" page likewise dates the company to its founding by Dr. Ulrich Matthes [1]. The fuller account names both men.

Phametra's first products came directly out of hospital practice. The company describes its 10 percent urea ointment ("10 % Urea Harnstoffsalbe") as one of its earliest and most established products. The company's own blog presents urea as an ingredient for dry and sensitive skin. Psoriasis was one of the main areas of Ulrich Matthes' clinical work, and the ointment was created to accompany psoriasis treatment. The company says it has since been used routinely both in clinics and at home [2].

A second urea ointment followed. Phametra explains that clinics asked for a milder 5 percent version to complement the 10 percent formula, and that this request led to a deliberate expansion of the range. The company presents this as an example of how it works: close cooperation with dermatologists and hospitals, with new products developed by staff together with scientists and doctors.

After Ulrich Matthes died, the company was taken over by his wife, Julia Matthes. This is recounted on the brand's homepage by Dr. Bettina Banasch, a dermatologist who met Ulrich Matthes through her work at the university dermatology clinic in Bochum. She describes how Julia Matthes needed advisers to help optimise existing formulas and develop new ones, and how she herself became involved in that work [1]. No year is given for either the founder's death or the change of leadership.

The most recent expansion has taken the company into what it calls dermatological gynaecology. Working with its network of dermatologists and clinics, Phametra added intimate-care products to its range, including a protective care cream ("Schutz- und Pflegecreme") and a version with zinc. According to the company, both were developed with women after the menopause particularly in mind. Phametra has said it plans to add further medical skincare products to its portfolio, though no specific launches or dates have been announced on its site.

Phametra describes itself as a family business. Its legal notice lists Julia Matthes and Sebastian Lichtenstein as managing directors, and the company is registered with the local court in Bochum [7]. No parent company or outside owner is named, and no acquisitions are documented.

The company sums up its outlook in one sentence: the person, their well-being and their health are at the centre, as they have been since the family business was founded. Its homepage tagline is "medizinisch – pflegend – schützend" (medical, caring, protective), and it lists five values: protective, caring, scientific, medical and pure.

A practical principle sits behind this. According to Phametra, Ulrich Matthes held that ingredients with no medical benefit should be left out. For that reason, the company says, its products contain no fragrances or dyes, and it tries wherever possible to avoid preservatives, hormones and microplastics [2]. It also states that its formulas are free of parabens, dermatologically tested and designed to be suitable for sensitive and allergy-prone skin.

Phametra positions its products as care that accompanies medical treatment rather than replacing it. It names atopic eczema (neurodermatitis), psoriasis and dry skin among the conditions its products are meant to support, alongside irritated intimate skin. The company also states that its products are recommended by gynaecologists, though it does not name the doctors or bodies behind that statement.

The core of the range is urea-based skincare. Besides the 10 and 5 percent ointments, the line includes a 5 percent urea body lotion and a 5 percent urea hand cream. Other skin and body products include a face cream, a foot butter, an aloe vera gel, a pH-neutral washing lotion and two bath salts. The company also sells accessories such as cotton gloves and care compresses.

Sun protection forms a separate line. Phametra makes an SPF 50+ sunscreen for adults and a children's version, which, like its face cream, carry the "MED" label. The company says its sunscreens are formulated to be coral-friendly.

Intimate care is the newest part of the range, built around the two protective care creams for women after the menopause. The company's blog explains its use of zinc in this category, and zinc appears alongside urea as one of the ingredients most closely tied to the brand.

On animal welfare, the company's statements differ slightly between pages. Its page for medical professionals describes the products as "vegan, tierversuchsfrei & ohne Duftstoffe" (vegan, not tested on animals and fragrance-free) [4]. Its FAQ is more precise: it says the products are "größtenteils vegan" (mostly vegan) but all free of animal testing, and names one exception, the 5 percent urea hand cream, which contains beeswax [3]. The cruelty-free claim is the company's own; no third-party certification is documented.

Phametra runs a dedicated portal for medical practices, pharmacies and midwives. Through it, the company supplies free product samples so that doctors, midwives and beauty salons can hand them out to patients and clients [4]. Alongside its own online shop, its urea ointments, intimate-care creams and sunscreens are carried by German online pharmacies, where they are listed as made by PHAMETRA GmbH and available without a prescription [9].

The brand's homepage shows the logos of several German publications under a "Featured In" heading, among them Brigitte, WELT, Freundin and Frankfurter Allgemeine. The articles behind these logos are not identified on the site, and no independent coverage has been verified. No awards are documented.

PHARMETRA is active. The company operates its own online shop and publishes a skincare blog, "Skinsights", roughly once a month; the most recent post appeared on 7 September 2026 [6]. Its activity is centred on Germany, where the company also supports several charitable and community causes, including a donation to the breast cancer charity Brustkrebs Deutschland e.V.