French biotech company Greentech has teamed up with cleantech specialist Deinove to commercialise skin care actives derived from a rare form of bacteria.
The companies hope to bring the first products to market by the end of 2018.
Montpellier-based Deinove is a biotech lab focused around a particular type of bacteria, the Deinococcus-group. This bacteria has the ability to multiply very rapidly and can also survive extreme environments.
“We’ve been working together for a long time on the extraordinary capacity of micro-organisms to develop adaptation and resistance mechanisms in extreme environments: heat, cold, salty, acid and radioactive,” said Yves Berthon, PDG at Greentech.
“The Deinove bacteria are unique and can bring a real added value to our portfolio of [skin care] ingredients.”
From an original list of 430 individual strains, Deinove has identified several dozen that offer properties that have possibilities for skin care formulations, including those with:
- Anti-oxidant properties for use in anti-ageing creams, firming products and sun care products.
- Anti-inflammatory properties for use on irritated or post-operative skin.
- Scar-healing properties, for damaged skin or for use in anti-ageing products.
- Fat-reducing properties for use in slimming and anti-cellulite creams.
- ‘Plumping’ properties for use in moisturisers and products such as lip-plumpers.
The two companies will now work on more extensive tests and creating the actual formulations.
“These results are a solid foundation for the development of our activities, initially in cosmetics, skin care and hair care,” said Emmanuel Petiot, Director General at Deinove.
“This co-development is a new way of making the most of our strain bank and our platform. Greentech has expertise in this field and in regulatory issues, and has a technical sales team that will be invaluable assets for the success of this project.”
