Skin is in—especially the type grown in a lab. Whether it’s 3D skin grafts developed by bioengineers at Columbia University, Estée Lauder testing the effects of microgravity on skin samples in space, or Labskin and University of Bradford pioneering more diverse skin prototypes using melanocytes (the cells that produce melanin), what once seemed a faraway concept may now well be the transformational future of cosmetic care.
L’Oréal certainly thinks so, partnering with the University of California (UC) Berkeley's biotech incubator, Bakar Labs. The beauty behemoth will grant the enterprise access to its 3D reconstructed skin models for safety and efficacy testing, in exchange for leveraging the early-stage biotech enterprise’s insights to inform future product development. Their partnership could eradicate the need for animal testing, among other exciting R&I potentials.
“L’Oréal has been a pioneer of 3D reconstructed skin for over 25 years, establishing alternative solutions for a world without animal testing,” says Barbara Lavernos, Deputy Chief Executive Officer in charge of Research, Innovation, and Technology at L'Oréal. “Today, we are pleased to power Bakar Labs at UC Berkeley with this L’Oréal proprietary skintech platform to support Bakar’s best-in-class start-up ecosystem in their quest for new discoveries. With a fully integrated production of 3D reconstructed skin, we will provide Bakar start-ups with whatever is needed to achieve their goals.”
It’s not L’Oréal's first investment in the biotech space, with the company having made a minority investment in French start-up Microphyt (which creates ingredients derived from microalgae) back in November 2022, and also leading bioactive skincare ingredient pioneer Debut’s $34 million Series B investment round in June of this year.
Launched in 2022, Bakar Labs, which has raised over $715 million in funding to date and worked with corporate affiliates including pharmaceutical giant Bayer and Silicon Valley Bank, is looking to pioneer the next generation of life science innovation. With over 40,000 square feet of lab space and office spaces for up to 50 start-ups, its facilities include access to devices like the Agilent single quadrupole liquid chromatography/mass spectrometer (often used to decipher fragrance compositions), DeNovix Spectrophotometer/fluorometer (used for full spectrum UV-Vis analysis), and Life Technologies NanoDrop spectrophotometer (to qualify DNA, RNA, and protein samples—techniques that are being increasingly used in the skincare realm for product personalization). Current residents are companies like ResVita Bio, which is offering skin disease solutions through topical skin bacteria engineering—an advanced version of the microbiome-led approach sweeping through skincare—although the complete roster spans across other realms including food tech, therapeutics, and diagnostics.
"We are thrilled to be partnering with L'Oréal and benefiting from its extensive experience in microbiome research and advanced biological technologies," UC Berkeley professor David Schaffer, Director of Bakar Labs, comments. "This collaboration will provide valuable resources and expertise to our tenant companies and allow us to work alongside L'Oréal to advance the biotechnology field across the pharmaceutical and beauty industries.”
The partnership presents another chapter in L’Oréal’s bet on biotechnology and thrilling opportunities for Bakar Labs’ existing base of entrepreneurs. Aside from finding better alternatives to existing testing models, it could be the origin point of new skincare innovation.
