SkinMedica has teamed up with Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) to screen and evaluate a library of roughly 40,000 natural extracts made available by the National Cancer Institute for potential applications in pigmentation.
The principal investigator for this collaborative effort is David Fisher, MD, PhD, chief of the department of dermatology at MGH and director of both its cutaneous biology research center and its melanoma center. He is also the Edward Wigglesworth professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School and past president of the Society for Melanoma Research. In 2007, Cosmetics & Toiletries interviewed Fisher to discuss his development of forskolin to pigment skin without exposure to UV radiation.
"With this collaboration, we can progress our screening work toward understanding the role of natural products in supporting or inhibiting the processes that generate pigment, and to identifying practical solutions for these patients," said Fisher.
SkinMedica is hoping that the collaboration will lead to the development of novel and efficacious hyperpigmentation treatments for conditions such as melasma, solar lentigines and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.
Perhaps the collaboration also will lead to the introduction of new lightening and self-tanning compounds.