Beauty may only be skin deep, but the damage some people incur attempting to look pretty shoots through to the bone.
Bob Thayer is confident his company, which has combined efforts with Vital Science to create the Derma DNA line, has the solution. Shoppers Drug Mart, the national pharmacy chain, is betting on it too. The company has agreed to stock both a cellular DNA assessment test and a series of skin-care products designed to both prevent and repair sun-based damage at all 800 of its stores nationwide.
The news left Thayer, founder of Thunder Bay-based Genesis Genomics, grinning from ear to ear. He said he wasn't the only one left smiling at the deal, announced on Tuesday.
"I don't think I'm exaggerating when I'm saying the level of excitement in the Shopper's Drug Mart people, was very high. In fact I think one of the individuals at Shopper's Drug Mart said, 'Our biggest problem is going to be how we're going to keep the product on the shelves," Thayer said.
The announcement culminated more than three years of research at Genesis Genomics, which first uncovered the bio-marker responsible for indicating skin damage caused by UVA and UVB rays and went searching for a partner to help deliver the product to the public.
Skin Physical, the derma DNA test, not only assesses damages already done, but it also categorizes a person by skin type, and can determine whether or not a person possesses other variants that may increase their likelihood of developing skin cancer. The two tests, done with simple cotton swabs, are analyzed at a lab in Houston, with the results and any recommended treatment sent back to either a dermatologist or the patient.
Previously a less effective test was done using needle biopsy, a much more invasive process. Skin typing, using the Fitzpatrick scale, was completely subjective.
"Most dermatologists will tell you that one of the areas they have a difficult time is skin typing individuals, especially young people," Thayer said.
The treatment comes in the form of several Derma DNA skin-care creams, which carry the respected Dermaglow brand and some of which offer a variety of SPF protection levels and one which conducts advanced cellular repair. Mike Fawcett, Genesis Genomics vice-president of business development, says it's a perfect time to enter the $60-billion worldwide industry, and that while Canada is the main focus this month, it won't be long before the U.S. and European markets are also tackled.
"We've set internal targets," Fawcett said, mentioning that while there are 500 dermatologists in Canada, there are 22,000 in the U.S. alone. "When we look at the growth potential for this particular lineup, it's unbelievable."
That's extraordinary news for a company that plans to go public within the next 18 months, Thayer added.
Both the Skin Physical test and the Dermaglow products will be available at Shopper's Drug Marts in Thunder Bay later this month.
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