APR eyes skin booster market with new anti-aging compound facilities

Global beauty tech company APR plans to expand in the anti-aging skincare market by bolstering its in-house capacity to produce PDRN and PN – compounds referred to as “advanced materials in anti-aging” – and then entering the “skin booster” and...

Global beauty tech company APR plans to expand in the anti-aging skincare market by bolstering its in-house capacity to produce PDRN and PN – compounds referred to as “advanced materials in anti-aging” – and then entering the “skin booster” and biotechnology markets, the company said on Wednesday.

PDRN (polydeoxyribonucleotide) and PN (polynucleotide) are extracted from DNA collected from the sperm or gonads of salmon or trout. Both substances have regenerative and anti-inflammatory properties and undergo similar methods of production, but have different uses according to chain length and cell dimension. They were first introduced to the Korean market in 2008 after National Institute of Food and Drug Safety (NIFDS) approval. While primarily used for medical treatment purposes at first, cosmetic usage of PDRN and PN for its skin rejuvenating effects have increased in recent times.

PDRN and PN-related markets project a high business potential. According to the Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the global market for PDRN is expected to reach $7.68 billion by 2024. The skin booster market for “cosmetic purposes” is also promising, and global market research institutions estimate the market to grow past $1.45 billion by 2030.

APR is plunging into this window of opportunity, acquiring in-house PDRN and PN production facilities. Scheduled for construction in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, the facility will yield a broad variety of products as APR continues to diversify its offerings. The factory site is approximately 13,200 square meters (142,000 square feet), and the building area alone will be around 49,600 square meters. APR hopes to finish construction within the year and kick off factory operations to roll out a prototype.

An outside model of APR’s second plant ? the APR Factory Pyeongtaek 2 Campus. [APR]

The company aims to complete a “PDRN Value Chain” via its PDRN and PN investments. Not only will it become a distributor providing materials to companies manufacturing products that use PDRN/PN, but under its Medicube brand it will launch its own line of cosmetics that incorporate in-house PDRN.

As APR has continued to study the parallel effects of using cosmetics with Medicube’s “Age-R” beauty devices, there are hopes for a new synergistic breakthrough. Ultimately, the aim is to broaden the business to the biotechnology and health care industries from a dermatological perspective, like using PDRN and PN in Class Ⅳ medical devices including “skin boosters” (skin injections) and graft/prosthesis biomaterial (treatment for knee arthritis).

“The regenerative benefits of PDRN and PN on skin indicate their upcoming rise as a crucial material in the derma cosmetic industry,” said an APR associate. “We plan to map out a consistent blueprint in our antiaging and skincare business through in-house supply and production, the synergy of cosmetics and beauty devices and expansion into the health care industry.”

BY KIM YEONSOO [kim.yeonsoo1@joongang.co.kr]