Japanese cosmetics firm Shiseido has acquired substantially all of the assets of Olivo Laboratories a Massachusetts-based start-up advancing the dermatological field through proprietary biomaterials technology, including its XPL [1] “Second Skin” technology, which creates a breathable, flexible and nearly invisible artificial skin, thus offering a number of benefits previously unachievable through traditional cosmetics or even cosmetic surgery.
Olivo was founded by renowned scientists including Dr. Robert Langer [2], David H. Koch, Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dr. Rox Anderson, Head of the Wellman Center of Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Dr. Dan Anderson, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The Olivo research and development team will join the Shiseido Americas organization as part of the transaction.
This acquisition paves the way for the “development of products that provide instant and significantly enhanced skincare and suncare,” states the Japanese group in a release.
“Our transaction with Olivo is an exciting next step in our ongoing pursuit to create entirely new categories of beauty products at a global scale as a part of our VISION 2020, middle to long term strategy. Olivo’s ground-breaking ‘Second Skin’ technology will join Shiseido’s already robust innovation portfolio, which includes the personalization technology startup MATCHCo, the artificial intelligence-empowered beauty company Giaran, and our own Shiseido-developed OPTUNE, a digital, personalized skincare platform,” commented Masahiko Uotani, President and CEO of Shiseido.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
