In a move that almost screams science fiction, L'Oréal Paris has announced its plans to harvest 3D skin for cosmetic testing. The French company has confirmed a partnership with start-up, Organovo, to create living derma by way of 3D printing.
The move itself is actually not revolutionary for the company, who currently utilises the skills of 60 scientists in Lyon to produce 100,000 skin samples per year. This skin is grown from the tissue samples donated by French plastic surgery patients. Typically, these samples have been used to test products like anti-ageing moisturisers, and sold to other beauty and pharmaceutical houses.
Expected to revolutionise product testing, the house’s latest partnership will help to assist in speeding up the process of generating skin for L’Oréal’s usage. Global vice president of L’Oréal’s tech incubator Guive Balooch said of the brand’s move: “we're the first beauty company Organovo has worked with.”
The partnership will accelerate the speed of skin production and will take place in the labs of Organovo, as well as at L’Oréal’s California research centre. It will also provide the French cosmetics house with exclusive rights to the 3D skin, largely developed for non-prescription skincare product testing. Organovo will retain rights to test the efficacy of prescription drugs, toxicity and the development of therapeutic or surgically transplanted tissues.
