RCP Therapeutics expands presence in cosmeceuticals segment
RCP Therapeutics describes itself as a biopharmaceuticals company and says that it is planning a two-pronged product launch in the first quarter of 2009 in UK – the first being a cosmeceutical products line aimed at the retail market and the second being aimed at the medical category, which will be distributed by medical pracitioners.
The company has been three years in the research and development stage and CEO Robert Sexauer says that the product lines are the culmination of a significant amount of collaborative work with research and development institutes worldwide.
The latest stage in the evolution of the company is the acquisition of the Telemolecular Corporation’s intellectual property, which is focused on regenerative, preventative and curative elements of age related processes.
Telemolecular means foothold in the US
Likewise, the deal also means that RCP Therapeutics can tap into the existing Californian operations belonging to Telemolecular, intending to increase the number of staff employed at the location and using it as a base to expand US business operations.
This evolution has culminated in the pilot launch of its lead product - currently named Bimene, but due to be renamed - which is a cosmeceutical product utilizing a nano particle delivery platform acquired through licenses with universities and US-based research institutes.
Sexauer explained that the product line will also incorporate a US patented technology that has a free radical scavenger, a nano SOD that is a plant-derived ingredient that is said to target ROS damage to the skin at a cellular level
Unique ingredient combination
Sexauer also says that the cosmeceutical line will be unique, as alongside the incorporation of the nanotechnology it will also include hyaluronic acid, vitamin C and collagen type 3.
This combination is said to target both the inner and outer skin layer, and Sexauer says that clinical trials have proven that it is effective for both preventative and age-reversing purposes.
The cosmeceutical line is expected to include six to ten products, including an anti-ageing moisturizer, a product for the eye area, a sunscreen and a facial wash.
Initial launch in UK, then worldwide
The line is expected to be launched in the domestic UK market in the first quarter of 2009, immediately followed by launches all over Europe, including the Netherlands, France, Germany and Eastern European countries.
The launch is expected to be nationwide in the US market three to six months after its debut in Europe.
A study published at the end of 2006 by Kline & Company found that the global nutricosmetics market was valued at $1bn, a figure the company says is set to double over the next five-year period with Euromonitor claiming it had already grown by 50 per cent between 2002 and 2006.
