GeneLink to develop personalized skin care with PhytoRich

Bioscience company GeneLink has signed a licensing and distribution agreement with PhytoRich, to develop and market personalized skin care products linked to GeneLink's proprietary genetic assessment technologies.

The agreement means that life science and manufacturing company PhytoRich will distribute GeneLink's skin care systems to its medical practitioner customers throughout the US, a move that should see the company's unique DNA-tailored skin care lines increasing their market reach.

"We are pleased to have completed this groundbreaking agreement with PhytoRich.

This is an effective way for GeneLink to serve a unique distribution channe l and leverage our partner's distribution capabilities to drive revenue," stated Monte Taylor, GeneLink's CEO.

"PhytoRich's innovative product delivery systems combined with GeneLink's state-of-the-art genetic assessments and technologies have enormous positive implications.

Together we will provide healthcare practitioners the ability to better optimize their patients' nutritional and skincare needs on an individual basis."

PhytoRich president Peter Leighton said he believed the agreement fits well with the company's aim to offer benefits for consumers that are in line with its aims to offer 'preventative health and health enhancing strategies'.

GeneLink is best known for its Dermagenetics brand, which has made a big splash in the US because it is a personalized and tailor-made anti-aging treatment.

It's success in the US has also led to its launch in Europe last year.

The company claims that the big difference for the Dermagentics brand is in the swab test all its customers take to create a night cream that is specifically formulated around their DNA and the requirements of their skin.

This tackles the problem of cosmetics products that are not specifically formulated according to individual requirements, thus avoiding the use of ingredients that might not be compatible with specific skin types and that could lead to toxic build-up.

Such toxic build-up can cancel out the efficacy of key active ingredients, rendering cosmetic treatments useless, as well as making the skin more sensitive.

Although the DNA testing behind the formulation is said to use advanced technology, the actual principal is simple.

Following an initial on-line consultation, the company sends out a kit in the post containing an explanation of the Dermagenetics skin care programme.

It also contains swabs, which are used to take samples of DNA from the inside of the mouth.

Theses samples are then sent back to the company's laboratories, where, after a careful analysis of the DNA, a night cream is prepared according to individual requirements.

Clinical tests are said to show that this 'genetically guided' cream is considerably more effective than generic night creams.