Helix BioMedix receives US patent for peptides

Patent number 7,354,903 was issued by the United States Patent and Trademarket office for the company's peptide applications and products, which are currently found in over 20 products that are marketed on a worldwide basis. Those products include brands such as Fusion Beauty, Smashbox, Isomers, and B Kamins, which will soon also be joined by what the company says will prove to be numerous new product launches scheduled for the course of this year. Targeting cosmetics and skin care ​ "The issuance of the patent is a key step in the protection of the intellectual property associated with our proprietary peptides, which is of critical importance to the company,"​ stated R. Stephen Beatty, president and CEO. "While our primary focus is dermatological theraputic development, this represents our first issued patent specifically targeting cosmetics and skin care applications, which is the direct result of our efforts to diversify our sequences as well as their bioactivites and application."​ Beatty added that the company has also filed other patent applicaiton which will form part of the company's aim to expand its portfolio of bioactive peptides during the course of the next few years. The company currently has a library of over 100,000 unique peptides with a broad range of uses, including wound healing agents and anti-aging agents for skin care products, together with anti-bacterial agents for oral care products. Marketing agreement with Goldschmidt ​ Last September Helix BioMedix announced a marketing agreement with leading global ingredients supplier Goldschmidt Personal Care, a deal that reflects the growing importance of peptides in the cosmetics field. The peptides themselves are made up of natural amino acids, and can stimulate a wide range of bioactivities, characteristics that Helix BioMedix feel explain their success as an emerging class of active ingredients. The Washington-based company has developed a number of peptides that stimulate aspects of the skin's innate ability to regenerate, which they claim reduce fine lines around the eye area without the irritation often associated with certain retinoid based products. Furthermore, the anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties of some of the peptides make them perfect as an ingredient in acne formulations and Helix BioMedix have developed a peptide that is present in a natural anti-acne system, formulated and marketed by Nature's Gate.