(From left to right: Dr. Martin Vethamuthu, Director of R&D, Sytheon; Rachel Blinder, Senior Technical Services Manager, Sytheon; Cai Zhaoyang, Co-founder, CHAILEEDO; Dr. Ratan Chaudhuri, Founder, Sytheon; Li Huihua, Co-founder, CHAILEEDO; Du Min, Co-founder, CHAILEEDO)
August 26, 2022, was a memorable day for Dr. Ratan Chaudhuri, the founder of Sytheon Corporation (Sytheon) in the United States. On this day, Sytheon’s new ingredient, “Bakuchiol,” was successfully registered on the official website of the China National Medical Products Administration. Instantly, this new ingredient, known as the “Plant-Based Retinol,” sparked high attention and lively discussions in the Chinese cosmetics industry.
“In the days following the registration, we received inquiries for collaboration from 68 companies, of which 65 were from China. This indicates the sharp responsiveness of the Chinese people and the enormous potential of the Chinese market,” Dr. Ratan recalled excitedly in his new office.
As a raw material company established less than 20 years ago, what gives Sytheon the confidence to enter the highly competitive market of active ingredients that requires substantial upfront investment? What are the research and development barriers for their new ingredient? How do they perceive the growth potential of the Chinese market? With these questions in mind, the CHAILEEDO’s US Beauty Tour team visited Sytheon’s headquarters for an exclusive interview with Ratan, exploring this ingredient company riding the wave of success.
Bakuchiol, registered by Sytheon Corporation
As we all know, raw materials play a crucial role in determining the core competitiveness of cosmetics and are essential for driving product innovation. The development of active ingredients can be considered the gem on top of the raw material industry pyramid, shining brightly but also presenting significant challenges.
However, Ratan, who has been involved in pharmaceutical research for decades, positioned Sytheon as a research-based company providing high-performance active ingredients for the personal care industry when he founded it in 2006. Currently, the company has grown into a small to medium-sized international raw material company with its headquarters in the United States, a branch in Europe located in France, and an Asian branch in Singapore.
For most Chinese peers, the name Sytheon is closely associated with Bakuchiol. It is known that Bakuchiol was previously included in the “Chinese Catalog of International Cosmetic Ingredient Names” in the 2020 edition, but it gained significant attention in the Chinese cosmetics industry in 2022. With the opening of China’s new ingredient policy, Bakuchiol was registered as a new cosmetic ingredient by the China National Medical Products Administration on August 26, 2022, with Sytheon as the registrant. It is worth mentioning that Sytheon is the first U.S. company to obtain registration for Bakuchiol as a new ingredient in China.
According to the publicly available technical requirements for new ingredients from the National Medical Products Administration, Bakuchiol’s INCI name is Bakuchiol. Its purposes of use include skin protectant, sensory modifier, moisturizer, and antioxidant, applicable to the face, with a safe usage level of 2%.
According to Ratan, Sytheon’s inspiration for innovation comes from nature, and Bakuchiol is extracted from the plant Psoralea corylifolia with a purity close to 100%. According to his explanation, Bakuchiol was developed in collaboration with the University of California, Davis, and the related research data was published in the internationally renowned journal “British Journal of Dermatology.” This ingredient is known to effectively reduce wrinkles, photodamage, and pigmentation, similar to retinol.
Due to its remarkable anti-aging effects, Bakuchiol has been closely followed by the cosmetics industry. The Global New Products Database (GNPD) by Mintel predicted five years ago that “Bakuchiol will enter the mainstream skincare products represented by plant extract formulas.” At the same time, Bakuchiol has been used in foreign cosmetic brands for the past decade. Brands such as Bioderma, Avène, Paula’s Choice, and Nivea have incorporated Bakuchiol into their product lines.
“Every active ingredient originates from nature.”
Because of this, after Bakuchiol’s registration with the China National Medical Products Administration, it immediately sparked the pursuit of the entire industry chain. On October 20, 2022, the registration of Bakuchiol cream by Teoxiang was successful, making it the first domestic Bakuchiol cosmetic in China. As of now, according to the information from the Buk Chemical website, there are 176 domestic suppliers of Bakuchiol and 32 foreign suppliers.
Ratan stated that Sytheon’s main markets are currently in the United States and Europe. However, in his opinion, “the Chinese market has great growth potential, and the current ranking should be the United States, Europe, and China. With the recognition of Bakuchiol, the Chinese market will surpass South Korea and further expand.”
The reason why Bakuchiol is in high demand is because many industry professionals see it as a “plant-based retinol” or a “retinol alternative.”
“Compared to retinol, Bakuchiol has better skin tolerance and stability, and these have been scientifically validated.” Ratan stated that Bakuchiol is a well-defined compound that is easy to formulate and has strong stability. On the other hand, retinol is easily degraded by air and sunlight, so transparent containers or containers that expose the product to air would reduce the effectiveness of retinol. Due to its instability, formulating retinol products is also very challenging. As a result, retinol products are generally not recommended for daytime use, but Bakuchiol can be used.
In addition to Bakuchiol, Sytheon has also innovatively developed various anti-aging, whitening, and blue light protection active ingredients such as SYNOXYL AZ, SYNOVEA HR HEXYLRESORCINOL, SYNASTOL TC. “Every active ingredient in Sytheon’s product portfolio originates from nature.” Ratan stated that the active ingredients developed by Sytheon are generally based on plant sources and obtained through organic synthesis. However, Ratan is not particularly enthusiastic about the current synthetic biology trend in China. In his view, “New names always emerge in the market, but whether it’s plant extracts or synthetic methods, the premise is that the active substance has a stable and clear structure, clear efficacy, and safety assurance.”
“Inspired by nature. Built for performance.” This is a statement on Sytheon’s official website and a key point frequently mentioned by Ratan in his communication with the team from CHAILEEDO’s US Beauty Tour. Ratan mentioned that they approach plant-based and chemically sourced ingredients with equal importance, as long as the structure is well-defined and the purity is high. “Plant extracts are generally mixtures, and we prefer single components obtained after plant purification,” he said.
Research and development innovation combines global strengths
During the discussion, it surprised the team from CHAILEEDO’s US Beauty Tour to learn that Sytheon, a company constantly introducing innovative achievements, has only three full-time research and development personnel, including Ratan. Regarding this, Ratan stated, “No one specializes in any specific field. We collaborate with renowned experts from various fields around the world, ranging from basic research to product development, efficacy testing, human clinical trials, and safety assessments, in order to maintain continuous innovation and research.”
It is understood that Sytheon’s research and development personnel, including Ratan, have backgrounds in medicine, biology, and other relevant fields. In addition, Sytheon collaborates in research and development with well-known companies worldwide, such as Laurus Labs in India, Sunny BioDiscovery in the United States, Moffitt Cancer Center, and eurofins in Belgium. This indicates that Sytheon is adept at integrating high-quality global resources and drawing on the strengths of others in their research and development efforts.
As of now, the company has obtained and is applying for more than 50 patents in the United States, and the number of global patents obtained and applied for exceeds 70. They have also published papers in over 30 renowned global journals. Such achievements are closely related to Sytheon’s focus on innovative research. According to Ratan, Sytheon is very rigorous in maintaining the high quality of their products. They use the best third-party laboratories to conduct in vitro efficacy testing or human efficacy testing, and finally publish the conclusions and data in authoritative scientific journals.
“In addition, we are very meticulous in formulating our products. We conduct comparative experiments with active ingredients to ensure their purity. And in order to make our products suitable for a global audience, we also conduct efficacy testing on different ethnicities, so that the products are suitable for all skin types.”
Regarding Sytheon’s future plans, Ratan revealed, “Sytheon is actively entering the hair and scalp care market, and we will launch new products this year. Additionally, we are keeping an eye on the makeup market and will develop formulas for sun protection and anti-aging lip care.” He explained that Sytheon’s hair care products are called repair or nourishing shampoos. In addition to the basic function of hair cleansing, they also provide certain protection for scalp health.
“We also have a new ingredient that is actively applying for registration in China.” When talking about the future, Ratan appears optimistic, especially about the Chinese market. As a raw material company focused on the development of cosmetic active ingredients, Ratan is more confident than ever that a research-oriented and evidence-based company will reap substantial market rewards.
Thank you to Chinese American Cosmetic Professional Association for your generous support of the column of CHAILEEDO’s US Beauty Tour!
