Skin rejuvenating cream goes more than skin deep with senotherapeutic treatment.
Last year we reported on the launch of OneSkin, a topical senotherapeutic skin treatment which proved so popular it sold out for a few months. Now with stocks fully replenished, we wanted to find out more about the company and its proprietary peptide, OS-01.
Longevity.Technology: OneSkin claims to be the “first anti-senescence topical product designed to promote skin health from within.” The company’s co-founder and CEO, Dr Carolina Reis Oliveira, is passionate about addressing skin aging from a topical perspective, so we were delighted to discuss the company, its background and its vision with her.
OneSkin’s initial proposal was to validate the effectiveness of “anti-aging” skincare products available in the market, in order to meet the needs of consumers for science-validated products, as well as for the companies that are looking to differentiate their products from competitors.
“Our approach for this validation was to test a given molecule in 3D human skin equivalents and analyse changes in the methylation pattern by running age-predictor algorithms, such as the Molecular Clock developed by Steve Horvath in 2013,” Dr Oliveira explains. “Since this and other algorithms used at the time largely failed to predict skin age accurately, we decided to develop our own skin-specific molecular clock, in which the average difference between predicted age and chronological age is lower (approximately 4.6 years) than the currently available molecular clocks.”
However, this was just the start of the journey, as Oliveira explains.
“Later on, we realised that we could create more value and offer a scalable solution by developing new and more effective products for skin rejuvenation, instead of limiting ourselves to validating third party products,” she says. “We also realised that there wasn’t any initiative for targeting senescent cells focused on our body’s largest organ, the skin.”
“We also realised that there wasn’t any initiative for targeting senescent cells focused on our body’s largest organ, the skin.”
The first step was to develop a screening platform to find new compounds that target senescence cells. Using cells derived from progeria patients and elderly donors and ensuring to use models that were relevant for clinical translation, the OneSkin team built a platform to replicate skin aging in the lab.
Once the team had lead compounds that targeted senescent cells, they could measure improvement in skin function, skin structure in terms of tissue organisation and skin biological age.
cells (blue)
“We tested over a thousand peptides,” explains Oliveira, “and found OS-01, which is in OneSkin and another sequence on which we have a patent pending. We performed all the necessary safety studies on OS-01, formulated the peptide in a cream and then we performed the clinical study. That’s the final product that’s on the market right now.”
The interest in longevity is still growing, says Oliveira. “When we started developing our platform, back in 2017, we were one of the few rejuvenation, or aging-focused companies here. For example, in the incubator we were the first longevity company at our accelerator (Indiebio) and also at our incubator (MBC Biolabs).
Today there are more than 10 companies focusing on aging or the diseases of aging. Being quick off the mark and having such a wealth of skin experience in our team has given us an advantage in that we could develop this platform, find a compound, complete several rounds of validation and develop a marketable product – that positions us as pioneers in the longevity and skin health industry.”
OneSkin are keen to communicate the science behind their product to the consumer. “We have scientific papers on the peptide and our skin-specific molecular clock, we publish a great amount of educational content on our website and social channels, and we are relating it all back to longevity as a whole,” says Oliveira.
“We are very health-focused and this is why we describe OneSkin as a topical skin supplement, rather than skin care. It nurtures skin and prepares it for rejuvenation and repair, rather than just having a superficial, temporary effect. And we back this up all the way with safety and efficacy.”
OneSkin launched during a global pandemic, but that hasn’t slowed things down. “There has been an increase in ecommerce, and since our primary distribution channel is direct to consumer, it hasn’t affected us in that way,” explains Oliveira. “There has also been increased interest in healthcare and longevity and understanding that aging is a risk, and skin is a part of that.
“We believe the future is for preventative therapies, and OS-01 is a good candidate for those and for health extension.”
“A lot of our customers are focused on health over beauty, or want to avoid invasive procedures. We want to be people’s number one choice for keeping their skin healthy; it’s not about fighting for perfect skin, which can end up damaging the cells underneath, it’s about nurtured, resilient, healthy skin that is as biologically young as possible.”
The cosmetic skincare market is crowded, but it’s not just the scientific approach, says Oliveira, that sets OneSkin apart. “We want to be transparent about our developmental process, and we want to empower people to take action about their health. We want to demonstrate a warmth and approachability for our customers, but never forgetting it’s all about the science!”
And what’s next for OneSkin? Further refining the peptide and developing a body cream is under consideration. “When we talk about promoting skin health, we mean to do it holistically, not only face, neck and hands,” comments Oliveira.
“Our long-term vision is to expand OS-01 applications beyond the skin. We believe the future is for preventative therapies, and OS-01 is a good candidate for those and for health extension.”
