Greentech has chosen Deinove to develop new active substances from its panel of extremophile bacteria. Deinove had already screened its strains to identify activities sought after in the cosmetics industry. The Greentech and Deinove R&D teams will continue testing and working on the production, purification, and formulation of several compounds with the goal of bringing a first ingredient to market by the end of 2018.

"In our developments we aim to leverage the extraordinary ability of microorganisms to build mechanisms of adaptation and resistance in extreme environments: hot, cold, hypersaline, radioactive, acid, basic, etc. Deinove’s bacteria are unique and can bring real added value to our portfolio of ingredients intended to protect and beautify the skin,” commented Jean-Yves Berthon, CEO of Greentech.

430 wild-type strains

Deinove undertook in 2016 an extensive screening program of its bacterial collection to identify strains with properties that could be useful in cosmetic applications, mainly in skin care. A selection of 430 wild-type strains was screened by the Fluofarma laboratory, specializing in cell-based assays, to assess the effect of compounds in various applications and especially in cosmetics.

In vitro screening tests helped to identify successfully dozens of strains with sought-after properties in cosmetics, nutrition, and health:

 Antioxidant properties, for anti-aging, firmness or anti-UV, for example;
 Anti-inflammatory, especially for a soothing effect (for sensitive or irritated skin, or for post-operative skin care);
 Healing properties for damaged or photo-damaged skin, post-operative applications, repair, anti-aging;
 Activity on lipolysis for slimming, anti-cellulite;
 Action on lipid storage that can be exploited for a plumping and moisturizing effect, etc.

"These results are a solid foundation for the development of our activities, initially in cosmetics, skin and hair. As we foresaw, our strain bank has exceptional potential. This is now fully confirmed and we have a catalog of strains with various and identified properties," said Emmanuel Petiot, CEO of Deinove.

Based in Montpellier, Deinove employs approximately 50 employees and has nearly 160 international patent applications. The company is specialised in the discovery, development and production of compounds with industrial value from rare microorganisms, for the healthcare, nutrition and cosmetics markets.

Deinove relies on two key assets: a unique strain bank with 6,000 rare bacteria that have not yet been exploited, mainly of the Deinococcus genus; and a genetic, metabolic and fermentation engineering platform that enables them to customize these natural micro-factories, transforming them into new industry standards.

Also note that Greentech will speak on issues related to microbiota and cosmetics in a conference organized by Premium Beauty News at in-cosmetics London next week. More information here.