Beauty goes biotech: Cosmax taps Harvard researchers to help develop new health products
The cosmetics manufacturer will work with Mass General Brigham to develop microbiome-based weight management, antiaging and health supplement candidates through 2029.
From lipstick and foundation to microbiomes and weight loss drugs: Cosmax is now looking to grow beyond its beauty business using biotech in partnership with Harvard Medical School.
Cosmax, one of the world’s largest cosmetics original development manufacturers by production capacity and volume signed a second joint research agreement with Mass General Brigham (MGB) at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston on Oct. 13. The company plans to develop drug candidates and health-supplement ingredients to expand its reach beyond beauty products.
MGB oversees teaching hospitals affiliated with Harvard Medical School and has extensive clinical data and a large pool of researchers, including Harvard Medical School graduates.
The two parties will conduct a joint research program dubbed the Vision, Innovation, Vitality and Advancement (VIVA) project from this year through 2029.
Their first area of research will focus on weight and metabolic management.
Cosmax and Harvard Medical School researchers plan to identify probiotics and health supplement ingredients that act similarly to glucagon-like peptide-1, or GLP-1, a hormone targeted by diabetes and obesity drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro.
The goal is to find substances produced by micro-organisms that could help with weight management and develop them into functional ingredients. The researchers will also pursue drug candidates related to antiaging or slowing the aging process.
Lee Kyung-soo, chairman of Cosmax, right, and Mike McNally, chief development officer at Mass General Brigham, hold up a signed research agreement at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston on Oct. 13.COSMAX
The project will combine Cosmax’s microbiome research capabilities with Harvard Medical School’s clinical research infrastructure.
Cosmax has secured about 3,100 microbial strains through research since 2011. It has filed 204 related patent applications, 110 of which have been registered. In 2019, the company started to commercialize cosmetics based on its microbiome technology.
AI will also be used in the research.
Cosmax plans to apply AI analysis when developing research hypotheses and screening candidate substances, with the aim of improving both the speed and accuracy of development.
An employee inspects a product made at Cosmax in an undated photo.COSMAX
The two parties previously conducted their first round of joint research from 2024 through 2026.
In that first round, the research team found how a substance derived from a specific microorganism could alleviate symptoms of atopic dermatitis and improve the skin barrier function. Their findings were published in the international journal Allergy, and Cosmax is now working to commercialize products based on the research.
“Through the VIVA project, we will use cosmetics as a starting point to secure technological leadership in the biotech and medical fields,” said Lee Kyung-soo, chairman of Cosmax.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
