Nissha Co., Ltd. (hereinafter, “Nissha”), in collaboration with cosmetic and quasi-drug ingredient supplier Horus Co., Ltd. (hereinafter, “Horus”), has succeeded in developing new microneedles that dissolve in vivo (hereinafter, “microneedles”) containing skin care ingredients such as placenta extract and epidermal growth factor, or EGF. Nissha plans to market the microneedles to cosmetics manufacturers as a new skin care product.

Microneedles are drawing attention in the cosmetics industry as a next-generation approach to transdermal absorption. Active ingredients, or skin care ingredients, are molded into the shape of 0.1-millimeter-level fine needles, which are then processed into an adhesive patch for efficiently delivering the active ingredients into the targeted site.
Using its core technologies of high-precision molding and laminating, Nissha had succeeded in developing hyaluronic acid-based microneedles. Since the start of mass production in 2012, the company continues to offer the microneedles as a skin care product.

In skin care applications, microneedles are formed on a base of hyaluronic acid, which may then be blended with ingredients used in beauty salons, such as placenta extract and EGF. The expectations of the cosmetics industry had not been fulfilled to date, however, owing to the limits of conventional formulation technologies.
Nissha’s partner in the latest development, Horus, boasts proprietary extraction technology from natural sources, and engages in the manufacturing and sales of cosmetic, quasi-drug, health food, and pharmaceutical ingredients centering on placenta extract. With technical cooperation from Horus, Nissha established the optimal conditions for forming skin care ingredients into microneedles, and succeeded in developing new blends of placenta extract and EGF sourced in Japan, and other high-quality ingredients provided by Horus.

Moving forward, Nissha plans to market the microneedles to cosmetics manufacturers as a state-of-the-art skin care product inspired by the procedures employed at beauty salons for placenta extract and EGF injection.