Over the past two decades, the application fields of recombined collagen in China have been quietly undergoing a revolution. From the initial Type I and Type III collagen to the current Type II and XVII collagen products actively explored by many enterprises, it indicates that the industry has entered a period of rapid expansion in application.
As a leading platform-type synthetic biology enterprise in China, Trautec has continuously deepened its research starting from recombined collagen, and has achieved significant breakthroughs. Just last month, Trautec officially announced a breakthrough after years of exploration: the successful development of Type III recombined human collagen with amino acid sequences identical to natural collagen and possessing a natural triple helix structure, which can be industrialized.
The company has not only made remarkable achievements in technological research but also leads in market conversion. It has been learned that, in collaboration with top beauty brands both domestically and internationally, Trautec’s recombined collagen products have been used in brands such as Proya, CHANDO, and AUPRES under the Shiseido Group.
Why do top beauty brands choose to collaborate with Trautec? What innovative and unique value does Trautec demonstrate in the development of recombined collagen? These questions are worth further exploration within the industry.
Achieving mass production of four types of recombinant collagen, being the first to obtain EcoVadis certification
It is well known that collagen is closely related to the youthfulness of the skin and wound repair. Collagen accounts for up to 70% of the human skin, maintaining tissue stability and elasticity. Recombinant collagen refers to collagen synthesized using DNA recombination technology.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, with the continuous development of biotechnology and nanotechnology, the application of recombinant collagen has been widely expanded. Recombinant collagen is widely used in the fields of biomedical materials, injectable fillers, functional dressings, and skincare products.
According to publicly available information from the National Medical Products Administration’s filing system, as of September last year, there were 1243 product records related to “recombinant collagen,” covering items such as facial masks, essences, and eye creams. It can be seen that as a new player in the Chinese market, recombinant collagen is creating its era as a star ingredient.
Among the many entrants, Trautec, established in 2015, has brought many surprises to the industry. As a synthetic biology full industry chain platform enterprise, Trautec possesses a biosynthesis platform and a medical device transformation platform, focusing on the research and development, production, and sales of new biological materials, innovative functional proteins, nucleic acid drugs, food ingredients, and new medical device products.
In the past two years, Trautec has made breakthrough progress in the research and development of recombinant collagen technology and the commercialization of products. Qingyan understands that Trautec has successfully achieved the scale and standardization production of recombinant collagen types I, II, III, and XVII.
As a typical example, in February of this year, the technical expert team at Trautec Research Institute successfully developed recombinant human collagen type III with an amino acid sequence identical to natural human collagen and possessing a natural triple helix structure, which has been industrialized. According to publicly available information, this is the first independently developed and industrialized recombinant human collagen type III in China, filling the research gap in independent intellectual property rights and industrialization of recombinant collagen, and demonstrating a significant breakthrough in Chinese synthetic biology technology.
Tracing back to 2022, the research team at Trautec achieved a breakthrough in the green preparation and industrialized production of recombinant collagen type XVII using synthetic biology technology. It is known that collagen type XVII is a crucial factor in regulating various stem cells, associated not only with skin aging but also with aging phenotypes such as hair loss and graying.
An evident trend is that with global consumers’ heightened focus on “pure aesthetics,” Chinese ingredients are also evolving towards a more natural, green, and safe direction. Trautec comprehensively employs synthetic biology, with enzyme catalysis and fermentation engineering as the industrialization foundation, to produce recombinant collagen raw materials, undoubtedly representing a green and natural production approach.
It is understood that to further implement green and sustainable principles, Trautec is also applying for ISO 14067 certification for enterprises and pioneering animal-free and animal experiment-free practices in cosmetic raw material production. It has obtained the first domestic carbon footprint accounting green leaf certificate for recombinant collagen products.
Simultaneously, as an active practitioner of ESG principles, in February of this year, following the final evaluation by the international authoritative corporate social responsibility rating agency EcoVadis, Trautec was awarded the Bronze Medal in the 2023 Global Corporate Social Responsibility Rating Assessment. Its score ranked in the top 35% of all participating enterprises globally. It is worth mentioning that Trautec is the first domestic recombinant collagen production enterprise to obtain EcoVadis certification.
It’s not difficult to notice that Trautec is deeply cultivating various aspects such as technological research and development, ESG, etc. While bringing safer, greener, and more natural recombinant collagen ingredients to the market, it further consolidates its leadership position.
To join hands with top brands and take the first step into marketization
As various types of recombinant collagen have been industrialized, Trautec’s raw materials have also been successfully applied in anti-aging, repair-type cosmetics, and high-end medical products, marking a successful first step into marketization.
It is noted that Trautec’s recombinant collagen ingredients have been utilized in well-known domestic and international brands such as Shiseido’s AUPRES, Proya, CHANDO, and AHC. Many products have received rave reviews upon their release, reflecting the significant advantages of Trautec’s raw materials.
For example, at the end of January this year, in Proya’s new product, Original Repair Cream 2.0, an exclusive new ingredient, recombinant XVII small molecule collagen from Trautec, was used. According to the Proya brand, “Upon first encountering Trautec’s XVII collagen, PROYA TIME LAB had a premonition that this would be the soul ingredient of Original Repair Cream 2.0.” It is reported that, unlike other types of collagen, Trautec’s XVII collagen works across the epidermal layer and even deeper into the basal membrane, particularly regulating multiple key pathways in the basal membrane, thereby playing an important role in promoting the synthesis of multiple key proteins.
It is reported that during the product development process, to enhance skin absorption, Proya’s Original Repair Cream 2.0 underwent precise cutting and processing of the XVII collagen, reducing the molecular weight to 5.5 kDa, almost resembling peptides, while retaining the core efficacy. According to third-party efficacy evaluation reports, increasing the content of XVII collagen can promote the content of multiple key proteins in the basal membrane, collectively repairing the basal membrane.
At the end of February, Shiseido’s brand AUPRES unveiled its blockbuster new product, the “Time Lock” electric eye essence. It is reported that the new product inherits Shiseido’s 40 years of collagen research, deconstructing the texture of the eye area muscles and pioneering the use of recombinant human collagen ingredients for the first time.
CHAILEEDO learned that in the AUPRES “Time Lock” electric eye essence, the 5 kDa recombinant small molecule human collagen, developed jointly by Shiseido and Trautec after collaborative efficacy research and application, is the first exclusive customized ingredient. According to data from third-party laboratories, after two weeks of continuous product use by 32 Chinese female volunteers, there was a reduction of 7.37% in eye bags, a decrease of 29.63% in tear trough wrinkle volume, and a 10.46% increase in eye area firmness. This safe and effective product undoubtedly lays the foundation for further cooperation between the two parties in the future.
Furthermore, in September of last year, in the newly launched Extravagance Rejuvenation Collagen Cream by CHANDO, Trautec’s type III recombinant (humanized) collagen was also used. In product development, Trautec and Naturgo collaborated to decipher the core “code” of collagen, screening out three types of collagen RGD sites that effectively promote cell adhesion to biomaterials. With the support of multiple hardcore technologies, CHANDO’s type III recombinant (humanized) collagen in the collagen cream exhibits higher activity and better anti-aging effects.
It is reported that since its launch, CHANDO’s Extravagance Rejuvenation Collagen Cream has received numerous positive feedbacks, not only earning authoritative recommendations from dermatology experts and medical doctors from top-tier hospitals but also being hailed by many consumers as their “go-to cream” for sensitive skin and anti-aging, garnering widespread market recognition.
Leading beauty brands both domestically and internationally have successively utilized Trautec’s raw materials in their flagship new products. This not only stems from the brands’ forward-looking vision regarding the future market trends for recombinant collagen but also demonstrates their recognition of Trautec’s years of technical expertise and research strength in the field of recombinant collagen.
Joining the top tier and leading the global market
In the field of recombinant collagen, although Trautec has only been established for 8 years, it has already joined the top tier of the recombinant collagen industry.
It is understood that to date, Trautec has obtained 8 authorized patents for core sequences of recombinant collagen, with 6 related core functional protein structure data included in the US Protein Data Bank. It has also participated in several national “Thirteenth Five-Year Plan” and “Fourteenth Five-Year Plan” key research and development projects, as well as multiple provincial and municipal-level research projects, positioning itself as a leader in China’s recombinant collagen industry.
Moreover, in terms of achieving large-scale production, Trautec is also at the forefront of the industry. It is known that the stable fermentation purification technology adopted by Trautec can achieve a fermentation scale of 30 tons. This not only signifies Trautec’s more stable raw material output but also indicates that the bottleneck in the large-scale application of recombinant collagen in China has been broken.
In fact, since its establishment, Trautec has aimed at the global market. As Trautec’s CEO Qian Song stated, “Trautec will continue to expand the application of recombinant collagen products in high-end fields such as pharmaceuticals, medical regeneration, and medical aesthetics.”
On the other hand, Trautec is also expanding its presence in overseas markets. In early 2023, Trautec established its overseas sales network. Through the resource platforms of international leading beauty conglomerates such as Shiseido and LVMH, its products have received significant positive feedback from overseas companies.
In the same year, Trautec independently developed and produced recombinant collagen type XVII, and recombinant small molecule collagen type III was successively included in the international cosmetic ingredient directory. “The inclusion of collagen type XVII in the international cosmetic ingredient directory signifies the successful overseas expansion of Chinese cosmetic ingredients, establishing a benchmark for China in the international market. In the future, Trautec will establish marketing centers in locations such as Barcelona, New York, Seoul, and Bangkok, incorporating more international cosmetic companies into Trautec’s cooperative system,” said Qian Song.
It is worth mentioning that from March 20th to 22nd, at the upcoming PCHi 2024 China International Cosmetics, Personal and Home Care Ingredients Exhibition, Trautec will showcase products such as recombinant small molecule collagen type III and tetrahedral nucleic acid tFNAS at booth 1H60 in Hall 1. Meanwhile, at the new technology release conference, Trautec’s Director of Raw Material Research and Development, Li Jiajia, will deliver a keynote speech titled “Unlocking the Secrets of Skin Basement – Innovative Research and Development of Recombinant Collagen.”
From the introduction of investments from private equity firm L Catterton under LVMH and Shiseido to the inclusion of multiple products in international cosmetic ingredient directories, and to the adoption of products by well-known beauty brands both domestically and internationally, along with the establishment of overseas sales networks, all demonstrate Trautec’s unprecedented technological confidence and determination to lead the global market.
In the golden age of recombinant collagen ingredients, Trautec is accelerating its pace with innovative capabilities and leading advantages, allowing the world to see the beauty of Chinese ingredients.
