BioTech Firm Envisions Personalized, Clock-Stopping Skin Care; Partner Wanted

DermTech International, a company with patented technologies for the non-invasive collection of genetic material from skin as well as gene expression analyses, believes its work has major implications for anti-aging cosmeceuticals.

The La Jolla, Calif.-based company says its Epidermal Genetic Information Retrieval (EGIR) adhesive skin sampling technology - when coupled with its microarray-based analysis for assessing the expression of genes - could help spur the development of customized anti-aging skin-care products.

The company stumbled upon the anti-aging potential of its patented technologies while developing a gene expression profiling assay for the non-invasive detection of melanoma.

Currently in late-stage development, the assay - which the company claims is thus far proven to be 100 percent sensitive in detecting the disease, can identify which patients need to receive a biopsy.

The company is exploring the potential for developing products based on a similar system in which skin would be sampled and analyzed for genetic information associated with skin aging as a means of fitting individuals with personalized skin-care regimens.

Skin Aging: It's In The Genes

DermTech's vision is based on the finding that the genes that control skin aging can be expressed at various levels regardless of the person's chronological age, so that a woman who is 30 could have genes expressed to the level typical of a 50-year-old, and vice-versa.

The process for identifying a subject's gene progression begins by taking a skin cell sample using the firm's patented EGIR technology, which includes a hand-held device with an adhesive on the end that painlessly collects cells from the upper layer of skin (stratum corneum).

The technique is the only method on the market that is non-invasive, meaning it does not require a biopsy, and therefore has the potential to be used in a setting such as a department store to sample cells, DermTech CEO George Schwartz suggested during a Feb. 2 interview with "The Rose Sheet."

Once skin cells are collected, the ribonucleic acid (RNA) from the cells can be "isolated, amplified and analyzed" using DermTech's molecular biology tools that identify and correlate changes in the gene expression profiles of RNA.

DermTech's Skin Age Index separates people into "young" and "old" categories according to the level of expression present in the genes identified as contributing to the skin aging process.

Age categories include 18-30, 31-39, 40-59, 60-69 and 70-90.

With that information obtained, a skin-care patient or customer could theoretically be told which skin-care product or regimen is appropriate for his/her skin, based on the unique expression levels of their genes.

"The idea is to be able to use new scientific technologies and our advanced sample collection and analysis technique to, for the first time ever, identify the anti-aging cosmetics products that will be right for each person," Schwartz said. "We are looking at a true targeted, molecular approach to skin care."

Schwartz envisions that the work of his company could one day enable skin-care customers to obtain "age-appropriate" anti-aging products for their skin simply by walking into a department store or dermatologist office and getting "test-stripped" using EGIR.

The exec noted that while there are companies doing similar genetic research on subcutaneous tissue, they do not have the means to easily collect samples and thus "no way of personalizing it, because no one is going to walk into Bloomingdale's and get a biopsy."

Long-Term Goal Is "Preserving Youthfulness"

DermTech is seeking a partner for pursuing development opportunities, some longer-term than others.

Ultimately and ideally, the company's goal is to create or have access to products that can function alongside its sampling and analysis technology to "arrest the further changes in gene expression levels that are associated with aging skin, thereby preserving youthfulness," says Schwartz.

In effect, such a breakthrough innovation would not merely reduce the appearance of wrinkles and other signs of aging, but actually "stop the clock from moving forward," the exec suggested.

In the meantime, customized systems based on existing skin-care solutions - targeted to consumers of varying needs, as denoted by its Skin Age Index - may be DermTech's best shot at the market.

The firm is interested in partnering with a company with the "technical know-how and the marketing arm to make it happen."

Currently more than $6 billion is spent worldwide on topical anti-aging products, but few claim to address the genetic basis of aging skin and fewer have the science to support their claims.

A number of large cosmetic marketers, including Procter & Gamble, The Estee Lauder Companies and L'Oreal are conducting their own research into the role that gene expression plays in skin aging.

Beverly Hills, Calif.-based CellCeuticals is introducing its namesake skin-care line on QVC this month, positioned as containing a targeted gene-expressing complex that allows older skin to optimize its performance and "behave" like younger skin (¹ (Also see "CellCeuticals To Debut On QVC, Touted As 300% Better Than Competition" - HBW Insight, 1 Feb, 2010.)).

Ellen Marmur, Chief, Division of Dermatologic & Cosmetic Surgery at Mount Sinai Medical Center, acknowledged in an interview with "The Rose Sheet" Feb. 4 that many companies are making big strides toward understanding the effect that gene expression has on skin aging.

She says, however, that the ability to affect the expression of genes in a meaningful way to rejuvenate skin is "a moving target," and is therefore anyone's guess as to when it could actually happen. "Everyone is looking for that; it is the Holy Grail," she said.

Marmur recognized that DermTech's technology, particularly EGIR, represents a step in the right direction because it is a "great" diagnostic tool that allows, for the first time, a way to easily and cheaply access pertinent information without having to do a biopsy or other invasive procedure.

- Eileen Francis