DARMSTADT, GERMANY - Merck today announced the signing of an agreement with Laboratory Skin Care, Inc. of the United States for its cosmetic active ingredient Hydroxysomes® Calcium.
According to the agreement, Merck will market the active ingredient globally as a co-brand under the name Ronacare® Hydroxysomes® Calcium as of October 2014. In the interim, Merck will gradually take on the responsibility for marketing, sales, logistics and application technology customer support. The innovative substance uses a sophisticated mechanism to transport calcium into deep layers of the skin and there revitalizes the skin.
Optimal addition to cosmetic active ingredients portfolio
“Hydroxysomes Calcium fits perfectly within our expanding portfolio for providing our customers with anti-aging active ingredients that are technologically sophisticated, patent-protected and globally approved. We’re pleased to have found a partner in Laboratory Skin Care, which has extensive experience and wishes to cooperate with us over the long term,” said Michael Weiden, Head of Functional Materials within the Pigments & Cosmetics business unit. “Such scientific alliances are very important to us. We establish them to complement our own research activities, which recently generated highly interesting cosmetic active ingredients – for example Ronacare Bronzyl and Ronacare Pristine Bright,” Weiden added.
Promising mechanism of action in a growing market
Calcium feeds and regenerates the skin. Hydroxysomes® Calcium accelerates this mechanism by transporting the mineral into deeper skin layers several folds more effectively than conventional alternatives. Hydroxysomes®Calcium repairs the natural skin barrier, which is crucial for retaining moisture in skin. In addition, calcium plays an important role in skin layer differentiation and prevents wrinkles. Euromonitor has forecast annual sales for anti-aging products to be around USD 26 billion in 2014. Average market growth of 7 percent is predicted for the coming years.
Forward-looking cooperation
Zari Mansouri, Chief Executive Officer of California-based Laboratory Skin Care, is also pleased about the cooperation with Merck. “We see not only the benefit of being able to use Merck’s sales channels, we’re also confident that the two brands Hydroxysomes and Ronacare will optimally complement each other. Our mutual goal, and thus the basis for our forward-looking cooperation, is to exceed the high expectations of the cosmetics industry for bioactives.”
