French beauty behemoth L’Oréal has entered a ‘groundbreaking’ licensing deal with Dutch biotech firm Micreos to expand its expertise in the skin microbiome.
The agreement gives L’Oréal access to Micreos’ endolysin active protein in order to develop better high-performance skin care.
By using this protein, the century-old beauty group will be able to target only the unwanted bacteria in the skin flora, while sparing the good ones with its products.
“The agreement with Micreos opens up a very promising field in high-tech cosmetics,” said Laurent Attal, Executive VP of L’Oréal’s Research & Innovation division.
Meanwhile, Micreos’ CEO, Mark Offerhaus, added: “We expect this partnership to be groundbreaking.
“L’Oréal has been a leader in skin care for decades. Micreos is at the forefront of targeted bacterial biotechnology. We pair our strengths and millions stand to benefit.”
For more than a decade, L’Oréal’s Research and Innovation team has been exploring the skin’s microbiome and has published around 50 papers on the subject since 2006.
The group’s findings include the link between microbiome, skin barrier function and immune responses, as well as the evolution of the microbiome on ageing skin.
In 2019, the firm teamed up with technology incubator uBiome, a leader in microbial genomics, to conduct further research into the skin’s bacterial ecosystem.
Speaking at the time of the partnership, Guive Balooch, VP of L’Oréal’s Technology Incubator, part of L’Oréal’s Research & Innovation division, said: “At L’Oréal, our goal is to advance scientific research and leverage new technologies to change this relationship, but allowing deeper levels of personalisation.”