Biotech takeover: L’Oréal provides UC Berkeley’s start-ups “free access” to skin models

30 Jun 2023 --- L’Oréal has partnered with the University of California (UC) Berkeley’s Bakar Labs, a leading biotechnology incubator, to pioneer the next generation of beauty products. The new products will be backed by L’Oréal’s extensive microbiome science, Bakar Labs’ biotechnology expertise and other advanced scientific research.

The collaboration aims to redefine the beauty industry landscape, drive innovations that cater to individual needs, improve skin health and address specific skin concerns with new solutions. The company and university will do so by opening avenues for Bakar Labs’ incubated start-ups to benefit from free access to L’Oréal’s 3D reconstructed skin models.

“We are pleased to power Bakar Labs at UC Berkeley with L’Oréal’s proprietary skin tech platform to support Bakar’s best-in-class start-up ecosystem in its discovery quest. With a fully integrated production of 3D reconstructed skin, we will provide Bakar start-ups with whatever is needed to achieve their goals,” says Barbara Lavernos, deputy chief executive officer in charge of Research, Innovation and Technology at L’Oréal.

Biotech in beauty
Bakar Labs, housed in the Bakar BioEnginuity Hub on the UC Berkeley campus, offers over 40,000 square feet of lab and office space to 50 start-ups at a time. Its diverse community of start-ups includes companies working in therapeutics, diagnostics, agricultural tech and food tech.

L’Oréal and UC Berkeley are using the university’s Bakar Labs to create new skin tech. “We are thrilled to be partnering with L’Oréal and benefiting from their extensive experience in microbiome research and advanced biological technologies,” says UC Berkeley professor David Schaffer, director of Bakar Labs. 

“This collaboration will provide valuable resources and expertise to our tenant companies and allow us to work alongside L’Oréal to advance the biotechnology field across the pharmaceutical and beauty industries.”

L’Oréal has pioneered 3D reconstructed skin for over 25 years, establishing alternative solutions for a world without animal testing, asserts Lavernos. 

Going against animal testing
The beauty industry has been fiercely transitioning away from animal testing as consumer demands rise, bringing into question the ethics of the methods.

Earlier this year, European citizens pushed back at an EU directive to bring back animal testing for cosmetics ingredients in a move that would reverse a ban on the practice that has lasted more than a decade. New research in alternative testing methods offers some promise in guiding the industry toward more ethical and effective safety measures.

In an “unprecedented” milestone, the European Citizens Initiative’s “Save Cruelty-Free Cosmetics – Commit to a Europe without animal testing” reached more than 1.2 million validated signatures in January.

After months of hints at banning cosmetics animal testing, Canada leaped and passed the measures last week. In addition to the ban, the amendments will prohibit selling cosmetics relying on new animal testing data for product safety, including false or misleading labels on cosmetics tested on animals.

By Sabine Waldeck