October 21, 2020
by Elenor Grath
read online article at Longevity Technology
Extending skinspan with non-invasive senetherapeutic proprietary peptide.
OneSkin is a Longevity company on a mission to transform the way we think about skin. Today the company is launching OneSkin, a topical supplement containing a proprietary peptide, OS-01. Designed to reduce skin’s biological age, OneSkin claims to improve the skin barrier, support DNA damage repair and prevent the accumulation of senescent cells.
Longevity.Technology: By tackling senescent skin cells and halting the production of their associated toxic chemical secretions, OneSkin’s patented anti-senescent compound OS-1 is slated to reduce the molecular age of skin cells. The reduction of senescence-linked inflammation is a possible therapeutic indication for Longevity.
OneSkin launched in 2016 as a biotech startup after acceptance into IndieBio, one of the world’s leading science accelerators. The team is led and co-founded by Carolina Reis, Alessandra Zonari, Mariana Boroni, Juliana Carvalho and includes Senior Scientist, Lear Brace, a Harvard PhD and Postdoctoral Fellow at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and Peter Diamandis as one of its advisors.
Raising just over $2 million in 2017, OneSkin counted IndieBio, 2Future Holding and SOSV Ventures as its first investors for its seed round. Following a $3.5 million post-seed round in July 2019 from several angel investors, the most recent funding round was July 2020, with an angel investment of $1.5 million.
“… We saw a need to shift the current paradigm. Instead of short-term fixes that focus purely on aesthetics, we’re targeting the root cause of aging and optimizing skin health on a molecular level.”
“Our goal was to develop a product that extends skinspan, the period of time your skin is healthy and youthful,” said Carolina Reis, Co-founder and CEO at OneSkin. “Our roots are in longevity science and we saw a need to shift the current paradigm. Instead of short-term fixes that focus purely on aesthetics, we’re targeting the root cause of aging and optimizing skin health on a molecular level. We believe what we put on our skin should be safe, effective, and help to maximize our human potential.”
OneSkin operates end-to-end R&D in-house with a team of experts in stem cell biology, skin regeneration, tissue engineering, biochemistry, bioinformatics, molecular biology, immunology and aging. They measure skinspan in with MolClock – OneSkin’s first skin-specific molecular clock – and with skin aging modelling, using a proprietary technology and lab process which includes growing 3D human skin weekly and measuring how various products and ingredients influence gene expression of the many genes associated with aging and Longevity.
The OneSkin team use MolClock to understand how the proprietary OS-01 peptide affects skin at a molecular level and measure actual rejuvenation potential. The clock is also used to appreciate the full efficacy of different products, including how products influence gene and protein expression, skin barrier, and skin structure, with the aim of ensuring the topical skin supplement is as effective as possible at promoting long term skin health.
“As we age, senescent cells begin to accumulate in our skin tissues. The accumulation of these cells can contribute to an increased presence of wrinkles, susceptibility to skin cancer, and a damaged skin barrier,” said Alessandra Zonari, Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at OneSkin. “Beyond its impact on skin, when left to linger, senescent cells send pro-inflammatory signals to the rest of the body, increasing the risk of age-related diseases.”
OneSkin’s proprietary peptide OS-01 has been designed to optimise two key areas. It improves the health of the skin by improving the skin barrier, supporting DNA damage repair, and preventing the accumulation of senescent cells. This reduces skin’s biological age, as well as leading to increased epidermal thickness, improved skin structure through increased collagen production and hyaluronic express, maintained skin homeostasis and cell vitality.
OS-01 also works on skin health, optimising the molecular health of skin to improve its external strength; this results in firmer, smoother, more hydrated skin with decreased inflammation, fewer fine lines and wrinkles, decreased dark spots, and skin with an improved overall appearance.
