“2023 China Cosmetics Yearbook” by CHAILEEDO shows that the market size of anti-aging cosmetics in 2023 was 302.89 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 30.5%. The market share increased by 7.4 percentage points year-on-year, making it the most favored skincare effect in the market. From this perspective, anti-aging remains the primary demand in the skincare market.
However, in sharp contrast to the booming demand for anti-aging, many brands are still stuck in the “circle” of high concentration and ingredients, without substantial breakthroughs from the scientific research and fundamental understanding of skin mechanisms.
Addressing this challenge, KANS has found its own solution. KANS believes that only by starting from the mechanism of skin aging and providing precise anti-aging solutions based on cutting-edge technology targeting skin mechanisms can a breakthrough be achieved in the anti-aging race. After extensive research and verification, since 2022, the KANS research and development team has incorporated “computational biology” into cosmetics as an important breakthrough in “precision anti-aging.”
Recently, KANS held a technical seminar in Shanghai on the application of “CYCLOHEXAPEPTIDE-9 in the field of anti-aging research.” It brought together skincare industry experts, scholars, and influencers to discuss the outstanding effectiveness and wide application space of “computational biology” in the field of anti-aging from the perspectives of production, academia, research, and medicine. It further demonstrated the significant role that this cutting-edge technology can play in “precision anti-aging.”
In-depth mechanistic research combined with targeted technology, computational biology empowers “precision anti-aging.”
Computational biology, an advanced interdisciplinary field and the frontier of biology, is hailed as the “next industrial revolution” in the field of biology. It has broad prospects for application in the cosmetics industry.
In the era of the digital economy, the integration of computational biology and cosmetics has been accelerated. The application of this discipline in the cosmetics field has experienced rapid growth on a global scale. It has rapidly progressed from basic research to raw material preparation, product development, and efficacy claims, driving the development of the global cosmetics industry at an astonishing speed.
KANS is the first domestic brand to “take the lead.”
KANS has discovered that at the level of skin mechanism, computational biology can assist in the processing of biological information, prediction of target proteins, and screening of active ingredients. This, in turn, accelerates the discovery of new ingredients and the product development process, effectively promoting the efficiency and precision of cosmetics research and development.
Ultimately, at the level of product efficacy, computational biology can explore the root causes of specific skin conditions, design active molecules through computational means, and address problems with targeted solutions, achieving “precision skincare.”
Based on this, KANS has identified computational biology as an important research direction in anti-aging.
In practical applications, utilizing computational biology, KANS focuses on four dimensions of cosmetics research and application: 1) optimizing ingredient screening by using computational models and algorithms to predict and select effective skincare ingredients; 2) promoting personalized product development by developing personalized skincare products based on individual biological data; 3) improving research and development efficiency by reducing the number of experiments through computational simulation, thereby accelerating the product development process; and 4) conducting in-depth mechanistic research by utilizing computational biology to gain a deeper understanding of skin issues and the mechanisms of active ingredients.
The first significant achievement of KANS’s computational biology research is the development of the world’s first self-developed cyclic peptide in the field of skincare efficacy—CYCLOHEXAPEPTIDE-9.
Natural compatibility and efficient empowerment, the culmination of computational biology and peptide development—CYCLOHEXAPEPTIDE-9.
According to the internationally renowned market consulting firm, Euromonitor, peptide ingredients have shown a significant growth trend in anti-aging facial skincare products over the past three years.
The reason for this rapid growth lies in the incomparable advantages of peptide ingredients in anti-aging skincare products. Compared to the potential irritations of retinol and the uncertainty of boswellia’s efficacy enhancement, peptide ingredients are mostly created through synthetic technology. By utilizing advanced biosynthesis techniques to simulate the structures and effects of different peptides, screening the optimal peptides, and developing and designing novel molecules, it becomes possible to create more targeted anti-aging “peptides” that better meet the current demand for “precision anti-aging.”
KANS, with over 20 years of expertise in researching peptide ingredients, joined forces with the School of Chemical Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University to incorporate computational biology into innovative peptide development.
Through collaborative research and development, the first breakthrough was achieved—leveraging computational biology to upgrade traditional “linear peptides” through cyclization at the structural level. This led to the successful development of a revolutionary anti-aging innovation—CYCLOHEXAPEPTIDE-9. Compared to traditional “linear peptides,” the “cyclized” form of the peptide offers greater stability and safety, addressing the issues of single efficacy, instability, and poor transdermal penetration commonly associated with linear peptides.
Furthermore, based on bioinformatics, KANS conducted target recognition and efficacy exploration of the cyclic peptide. Through in-depth analysis of factors such as penetration, interaction with proteases, and target interactions, it was demonstrated that with the support of computational biology, CYCLOHEXAPEPTIDE-9 exhibits more enduring, comprehensive, and profound anti-aging capabilities.
The second breakthrough is rooted in the strong research teams and advanced research facilities of both parties. They conducted fundamental investigations into skin aging issues, explored their target mechanisms, and utilized computational biology in reverse to design and screen effective skincare ingredients based on specific target mechanisms. This ultimately led to the precise anti-aging efficacy of CYCLOHEXAPEPTIDE-9.
Collaborating with Princeton University’s SIGNUM Laboratory, CYCLOHEXAPEPTIDE-9’s precise anti-aging efficacy has received effective validation from multiple sources.
KANS, in cooperation with Princeton University’s SIGNUM Laboratory, screened the global gene expression profiles of 21,448 individuals. Ultimately, they discovered that CYCLOHEXAPEPTIDE-9 significantly promotes the expression of 23 key anti-aging genes.
On one hand, CYCLOHEXAPEPTIDE-9 not only promotes the expression of tight junction proteins and regulates cell growth and differentiation to improve epidermal aging but also downregulates the expression of inflammatory factors and regulates cellular energy metabolism to improve inflammatory aging. On the other hand, CYCLOHEXAPEPTIDE-9 activates collagen progenitor cells to promote the expression of various collagen proteins, effectively addressing the issue of skin aging caused by collagen loss.
In addition, CYCLOHEXAPEPTIDE-9 has been officially registered as a raw material in April, thanks to its originality and innovation. It has also obtained two core invention patents, including the highest-grade S-class structural patent (Patent No. 202211550526.8) and an efficacy mechanism patent (Patent No. 202211550144.5). A core scientific paper focusing on the efficacy of peptide skincare has been published, and KANS has taken the lead in releasing the first national group standard for “Synthetic Peptides for Cosmetics,” providing clear directions and guidelines for the development, production, and efficacy evaluation of peptide raw materials in the cosmetics industry. Additionally, seven patents, including those related to raw material structure and process preparation, are currently under application.
Furthermore, in May, KANS unveiled CYCLOHEXAPEPTIDE-9 at the 13th Asian Dermatological Congress and the 28th China Beauty Expo. They not only announced the latest data achievements of this component but also received the 2024 CBE MeiYi Technology Core Material Award for its outstanding performance in the anti-aging field. This signifies that CYCLOHEXAPEPTIDE-9 by KANS has gained broad recognition in the industry, both at the national regulatory level and in terms of product development.
KANS has established the International Computational Biology Research Center to create an open innovation research and development system integrating industry, academia, research, and medical sectors.
As an emerging technology, the application of computational biology in the cosmetics field is still in its early stages but growing rapidly.
Many internationally renowned cosmetics companies have already invested significant research and development funds in the field of computational biology in cosmetics. To achieve a competitive edge in this blue ocean market, KANS, as a leader in domestic products, needs to establish its own differentiated advantage within the century-old scientific research advantages of the international beauty industry.
Currently, leveraging the strong research capabilities of its parent company, CHICMAX, KANS has completed a “three-level leap” in scientific research and entered the era of research 3.0, which is centered around cutting-edge computational biology research based on AI big data. They have created an open “industry-academia-research-medical” innovation research and development platform.
In other words, KANS has already initiated basic research on the efficacy component of CYCLOHEXAPEPTIDE-9 by collaborating with top domestic and international universities, hospitals, and other institutions. They are further promoting the translation of excellent scientific research achievements in the field of dermatology through theoretical and clinical research.
In the future, KANS will establish the International Computational Biology Research Center with the support of the CHICMAX. They will further develop an open “industry-academia-research-medical” innovation research and development platform. By collaborating with universities, hospitals, and other institutions, they will conduct research on the effectiveness and innovative applications of CYCLOHEXAPEPTIDE-9 from a forward-looking perspective. This will enable them to strategically position precise anti-aging scientific research, fill the gaps in this field, and create differentiated advantages in anti-aging.
