Europe

StratiCELL celebrates its 20th anniversary

StratiCELL is a provider of in-vitro efficacy testing services for skin care products. Founded in Belgium in 2005, StratiCELL relies on a solid expertise in cell biology and tissue engineering to use home-made in-vitro skin model to study the mode of action and efficacy of skin care ingredients without the use of animal.

To date, the company counts over 200 customers, mainly in Europe, the United States and Japan, with some of the biggest names in the cosmetics and dermo-pharmaceutical industries. Dedicated to supporting their innovations, StratiCELL’s teams are committed to building tailor-made studies with each customer to meet the specific requirements of each project. StratiCELL is proud of this customer-oriented approach and of its competitive position maintained by the continuous expansion of new testing solutions in line with the market trends and its customer needs.

During its 20 years of its existence, StratiCELL has continued to address skin issues of ever-increasing complexity. While the company began with in-vitro testing solutions related to skin aging and the impact of the exposome, it quickly expanded its offer to include 3D reconstructed epidermis models replicating chronic inflammatory processes such as atopic dermatitis or psoriasis. This was followed by a unique offering of tests on melanized 3D models, enabling its customers to study hyperpigmentation problems such as solar lentigines and, later on, pigmentation loss such as vitiligo (figure 1).

StratiCELL was also able to anticipate the emergence of the neurocosmetic concept by providing an in-vitro model of reconstructed epidermis cocultured with human neurons. In this model, developed in collaboration with the French company Neuron Experts, human sensory neurons derived from induced pluripotent stem cells grow on the backside of the polycarbonate filter of a 3D reconstructed human epidermis. Studies carried out on this original model allows us to understand and assess the soothing effects of new skincare products (Figure 2).

StratiCELL’s major successes also include the launch in 2019 of its MicroBIOS Platform dedicated to the study of skin microorganisms in the context of 3D reconstructed epidermis (figure 3). The MicroBIOS Platform explores the effects of skin compounds on commensal microorganisms such as Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Cutibacterium acnes and Malassezia furfur, as well as their impact on the inflammatory and immune response of colonized tissues. Research teams are also addressing the problems of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections through the development of 3D skin models colonized by Acinetobacter baumanii or Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains.

In its 20th anniversary year, StratiCELL will be finalizing its new range of assays for feminine care. Indeed, its latest 3D reconstructed human vaginal epithelium model (figure 4) should enable the company to position itself as a leading provider of in vitro efficacy and toxicity tests for new compounds dedicated to women’s health, and thus support stakeholders in this growing market.

In the future, StratiCELL intends to pursue its development of new models and testing methods to meet the expectations of tomorrow’s dermo-cosmetics. To find out more and follow StratiCELL’s activities, visit www.stratiCELL.com, or get in direct contact with the experts at info@StratiCELL.com.

The entire team is looking forward to welcoming you at their booth 12E89 during the next in-cosmetics® event in Amsterdam, from April the 8th to the 10th, to celebrate with you 20 years of faithful and fruitful collaborations !

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