Ashland expands bioresorbable polymer range for cosmetic fillers

Ashland has announced an expansion of its Viatel bioresorbable polymer offerings, serving as a biodegradable alternative for materials in biomedical applications. Polymers have become a pillar in dermal fillers since they enhance skin texture and volume, stimulate collagen production, and fill wrinkles. 

The company says the expansion is part of its innovation strategy, which includes extending R&D and manufacturing capacities and expanding the product line with key value-adds, such as high-molecular-weight formulations. 

The Viatel bioresorbable polymers are also used for tissue engineering scaffolds, which can be used for cosmetic applications.

Ashland’s product line expansion follows a US$15 million investment at the Mullingar site in Ireland last year, and is part of a larger strategy to scale up.

Robert Lumsden, global business manager for injectables and life sciences at Ashland, says expanding its bioresorbable polymer portfolio with additional high molecular weight grades demonstrates support for global customers’ and partners’ needs. 

This year at In-Cosmetics, Personal Care Insights spoke with Justine Cotton, global marketing lead for biofunctionals at Ashland, about its Collapeptyl Biofunctiona — an ingredient that mimics and boosts 20 skin collagen types. She told us it is “the first-ever” hyalupeptide hybrid designed by AI-driven molecular modeling.

Last year, at In-Cosmetics, Ashland told us about its Transformed Vegetable Oil platform with three “new-to-the-world additives” with environmentally sustainable characteristics. The company told us these additives and specialty ingredients are “tunable” and can scale multiple markets while labeled “renewable, natural, biodegradable, non-microplastic, non-GMO, and vegan.”