Skin lotion(洗剂) may benefit Children's
P&G assigned it the patent; user sees worldwide potential
It's called "GirLite" and it could be a billion-dollar cosmetic treatment for fighting age spots.
Yet in a medical case of strange bedfellows, if this German-made skin lotion takes off, millions of dollars in patent royalties would flow to a pediatric research center in Cincinnati - thanks largely to a gift from Procter & Gamble.
On Wednesday, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center announced that it has awarded the U.S. and international patent rights to a compound called deoxyarbutin to Girindus AG, a German pharmaceutical company.
Financial terms, including exactly how much money Children's can expect to receive, were not disclosed. But a best-case market study commissioned by the medical center reported that the market for this skin-lightening lotion could exceed $1 billion a year.
"We think this is a significant opportunity for us," said Dr. Joe Fondacaro, director of the intellectual property and venture development at Children's. "This is one of the biggest (technology transfers) we've done."
Without specifying contract terms, Fondacaro said the lotion could generate millions of dollars in royalties every year for seven to 10 years. But everything depends on how well the lotion sells.
The product works by blocking the uptake of melanin, the substance that adds color to human skin. The topical cream would be sold over-the-counter.
Girindus officials have not specified when the product would be sold in the United States, but some marketing could occur worldwide this year. Although Girindus runs a small-scale manufacturing facility in Reading, the active ingredient for this lotion would be made in Germany, the company says.
Key markets for the lotion would include the treatment of age spots in the United States and other countries. But in Asia, the product will be offered as a general skin-tone lightener.
"The market for skin-lightening products in Asia alone accounts for sales of several billion U.S. dollars annually," the company stated in a Dec. 9 press release.
The product could be used at higher doses to reduce darkening caused by burns, severe acne, scars from surgery or injury and other skin conditions. It is not offered as a treatment for birthmarks.
The new lotion claims two key advantages. One, it isn't as irritating to skin as hydroquinone, another skin-lightening product. Two, the effects are temporary, which reduces the risk of unwanted permanent skin tone changes, said Dr. Marty Visscher, director of the Skin Sciences Institute at Children's.
So why would a pediatric center be working on a product for age spots? Well, it was a gift.
Procter & Gamble initially developed the compound in the mid-1990s as a possible addition to its Olay cosmetic line, but decided not to pursue it because it appeared at that time to require costly approval as a prescription drug. So in early 2002, the company gave away the rights to the ingredient to a nonprofit research center, much like it has with more than a dozen other unused patents.
The donation to Cincinnati Children's involved more than 30 related patents - some for the compound; others for the manufacturing process; and several to protect the rights in various European, Asian and South American nations.
Children's was selected because it had highly regarded expertise in skin research. Visscher and other researchers there spent nearly three years continuing lab, animal and human testing of the product. Then Children's officials marketed the product to potential buyers.
Despite giving away what may become a popular cosmetic product, officials at P&G praised the process.
"This is how patent donations are supposed to work," said Jeff Weedman, vice president of global licensing for P&G. "The patent donee - in this case Cincinnati Children's - worked both to further develop the technology through its researchers and to license it. ... This license agreement demonstrates that universities and nonprofit research institutions can benefit from accepting patent donations."