Injectable filler product calms anti-ageing concerns
biotechnology company Intercytex has announced the release of an
injectable filler that is said to improve facial wrinkles.
A suspension of human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) in cell storage medium, the Vavelta facial rejuvenation product was introduced this week at FACE - the UK's largest medical aesthetic conference. Due to be launched in the second half of 2007, the product increases collagen production in the facial area due to the injection of fibroblasts into the skin, therefore targeting the growing consumer demand for procedures that conquer the signs of ageing - a booming market at present. A survey conducted earlier this year stated that the number of US women aged 35-plus that were either willing to use cosmetic fillers, or considering it, accounted for more than one quarter of the population. Intercytex carried out two trials in the UK, which consisted of a placebo - controlled safety and tolerability study in ten healthy volunteers and a second trial to test the efficacy of Vavelta in naso labial folds. Intercytex has also recently created waves with the creation of artificial human skin. The company disclosed information in the Regenerative Medicine journal that the artificial skin showed promising preliminary results in early trials regarding the effectiveness of the artificial skin on wound healing and scarring. The artificial skin, ICX-SKN, is claimed to be more significant than alternative substitutes in the past due to the formulation - created from a matrix made up of fibrin, a protein found in wounds that are essential in the healing process. Added to human fibroblasts, cells used to synthesise new tissue, the artificial skin produces collagen, making the complex more stable and aiding the artificial skin to more closely replicate how the skin replenishes cells. Results showed that the laboratory made skin was fully integrated after just 28 days, and had produced a closed and healed wound site. The off-the-shelf skin replacement product is said to be revolutionary for patients affected by burns and skin damage, with the cosmetic implications beneficial for consumers who wish to avoid the painful process of skin grafts.
