L&C Bio plans human-fat skin booster

South Korea’s L&C Bio says it plans to add an injectable cosmetic made from donated human fat to its lineup of human-tissue-based aesthetic products. The company said this week the product will use processed human adipose tissue to restore facial volume, a category that has drawn attention as consumers seek treatments for facial hollowing linked to rapid weight loss. Bloomberg reported the plan on August 5, citing an interview with chief executive Lee Hwan-chul. The proposed product would extend L&C Bio’s existing business in skin boosters derived from donated human tissue. ### What exactly is L&C Bio planning to inject? L&C Bio said the new product will be an adipose-derived extracellular matrix, or ECM, injectable designed to maintain facial volume. Seoul Economic Daily reported on June 21 that the company plans to launch “Mega Adipo,” an adipose-derived ECM product, once a revised legal framework takes effect next year. The report said L&C Bio has researched human adipose tissue-based regenerative medicine materials since 2018 and completed patents covering adipose ECM production in South Korea in 2022 and China in 2023. (straitstimes.com) Bloomberg’s reporting, republished by other outlets, said the product is intended to restore lost facial volume using donated human fat. The company’s approach differs from standard hyaluronic-acid fillers in that it is framed as a tissue-derived matrix rather than a conventional synthetic filler. That description comes from the company’s own account of how its ECM products work. (en.sedaily.com) ### How does this connect to L&C Bio’s existing products? L&C Bio already sells Re2O, a skin booster made from donated human dermal tissue. In an April 29 press briefing in Seoul, the company said Re2O is produced by extracting extracellular matrix from skin tissue donated by deceased individuals overseas, processing it into powder and diluting it with saline for injection. Chief executive Lee Hwan-chul said at that event that Re2O had recorded no reports of serious side effects since launch. (straitstimes.com) The company said at the same briefing that donors used for cosmetic applications had consented to that use. Lee said L&C Bio does not describe Re2O as “cadaver skin” but as human-derived acellular allogeneic dermis, meaning cells associated with immune rejection have been removed. Executive vice president Han Bang-hee said human tissue products are overseen by South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. (biz.chosun.com) ### Why is donated fat only becoming a commercial product now? Seoul Economic Daily reported that legal restrictions had previously prevented companies from securing adipose tissue as raw material for commercialization. The June 21 report said a revised law will open a path for human-extracted fat to be used for medical purposes, allowing manufacturers to begin full-scale production after the new rules take effect next year. An L&C Bio official told the paper the legal revision made commercialization of adipose-ECM products possible. (biz.chosun.com) That timeline matters because L&C Bio has been developing adipose-based products for years. A 2023 Korean exchange filing said MegaAdipoECM was being developed for lipoatrophy treatment and described the product as one that could provide volume effects while supporting tissue self-organization. ### What are the main questions around safety and ethics? (en.sedaily.com) April 29 brought public scrutiny in South Korea over L&C Bio’s use of human tissue in cosmetics after Re2O drew safety and ethics questions. ChosunBiz reported that critics questioned both the use of donated tissue for aesthetic procedures and the fact that Re2O did not undergo separate clinical trials because it falls under the human-tissue category under South Korean law. (kind.krx.co.kr) L&C Bio said its processing removes immune-response cells and includes sterilization and traceability controls. Lee Ju-hee, the company’s vice chair and a dermatology professor at Yonsei University’s Severance Hospital, said at the April briefing that infection risk was reduced during manufacturing and final sterilization. ### What comes next for the product? (biz.chosun.com) Next year is the key milestone. Seoul Economic Daily said L&C Bio plans to launch Mega Adipo in line with the law’s enforcement next year, and the company told the paper that the regulatory revision now allows commercialization of adipose-ECM products. Bloomberg reported the company announced the plan this week in South Korea, where K-beauty brands are already moving to address facial-volume loss as a new cosmetic category. (biz.chosun.com) (en.sedaily.com)