LibraGen and YSL Beauté collaborate in biocatalysis applied to cosmetics

LibraGen, a bacterial diversity-based process and discovery specialist, announces today that its proprietary enzymatic production process has enabled the YSL Beauté group to incorporate a hitherto unusable active compound into a future product range.

Using its proprietary technology platform, LibraGen has designed an enzymatic synthesis process which makes it possible to use molecules that are difficult to exploit in cosmetics. The process, which makes the active ingredient more soluble, exhibits a high performance and is completely reproducible.

The LibraGen process will therefore play a key part in the creation of a future generation of cosmetic ingredients for the Yves Saint Laurent Parfums brand. The new range will combine excellent conservation characteristics with a progressive natural release of the active compound in the presence of the body's natural cutaneous flora.

This significant step forward is in line with Yves Saint Laurent Parfums policy of offering its customers products with continually improved performance. "The collaboration with Yves Saint Laurent Parfums demonstrates LibraGen's rapid implementation of innovative synthesis processes which generate new ranges of active products," said Renaud Nalin, CEO of LibraGen. "It also shows the added value of using life science technology, in particular biocatalysis, in the field of cosmetics. "

"As the LibraGen-developed process is applicable to other active ingredients otherwise difficult to use, we plan large scale production to meet market needs in the cosmetic industry and especially for Yves Saint Laurent Parfums," he added. "This collaboration has brought excellent results and allowed us to take advantage of some leading edge technology - for us a synonym of more effective products," said Joëlle Guesnet, Scientific director of Groupe YSL Beauté. "It is part of our strategy to work together with experts such as LibraGen in many fields to ensure we can apply the most significant advances in our cosmetic formulations."