In the future, we hope to implement our project in a safe, non-invasive, cell-free ointment that senses inflammation signals and releases indole-3-acetic acid. This page documents our proposed entrenpreneurship for the implementation of our system.
As a high school iGEM team, our focus is on designing and demonstrating a feasible and safe, meaning, it could realistically be built, tested and used in a laboratory, even if not ready for commercial use just yet. Our goal is to show the scientific and practical potential of a cell-free topical approach while laying the groundwork for further development, like allowing industry or other academic groups to expand or optimize and adapt the system for real world application.
Acne is the most common skin condition in the United States, affecting up to 50,000,000 Americans annually (AAD). The global acne treatment market is projected to grow from USD 10.45 billion in 2024 to approximately USD 16.91 billion by 2034, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 5.00% from 2025 to 2034 (Precedence Research). Despite this growth, existing treatments often fall short in addressing severe acne, minimizing side effects, and providing personalized solutions. Side effects such as skin irritation and dryness from topical agents can lead to poor patient compliance, especially among teenagers (European Medical Journal). Furthermore, there is a lack of affordable options, with high costs limiting access to effective therapies for price-sensitive consumers (Towards Healthcare).
The acne treatment market is evolving to meet these unmet needs. The market is shifting away from harsh chemicals and towards gentle, biotechnology based solutions like biosensor innovations which aligns with the goals of our project. Innovations in modern times include the development of gentler formulations. There is also a growing emphasis on personalized treatments tailored to individual skin types and genetic factors (Dermatology Times). The market is witnessing an increase in affordable, over-the-counter options that aim to provide effective solutions without the high costs associated with prescription medications (Towards Healthcare).
Our project demonstrates that a synthetic biology system can detect inflammatory signals and respond by producing anti-inflammatory molecules, all in a topical and user-safe format. Key benefits include:
Lacking in the Market: The acne treatment market is expanding, there are significant gaps in addressing severe acne, minimizing side effects, providing affordable options, offering personalized treatments, and catering to diverse skin tones.
Dermalogic’s product is set apart from the many emerging products in the industry because of its usage of indole-3-acetic acid, which is a molecule naturally produced in plants. We hope that our product will have minimal side effects compared to the more expensive and harsh salicylic acid acne products that are leading in the industry today. Indole-3-acetic acid has been explored in gut inflammation therapy and as a photodynamic therapy option, ensuring its safety, but hasn’t been explored as part of a biosensor-response system.
Our proof-of-concept could help industry partners find new approaches in acne or inflammation therapy.
Teenagers and Young Adults would be interested in acne products because approximately 85% of teenagers experience acne, making it one of the most common skin conditions during adolescence. This statistic is supported by various studies, including a 2012 study published in the Journal of Women's Health, which found that 81% to 95% of young men and 79% to 82% of young women report having acne.
Targets teens and young adults with limited budgets by offering an affordable, science-backed acne solution accessible to everyone.
We were fortunate to connect with Curcuma Beauty, who have similar products, who offered to help us take our system further. We provided the innovative concept and early lab data, so that experienced partners like Curcuma Beauty could help us with commercialization, advanced testing, and regulatory requirements.
Additional support could come from:
Partnerships will expand revenue beyond direct sales. Partners mean access to bigger markets, more customers, or new revenue streams. For example, partnering with regional distributors increases our reach from 10K to 100K potential customers.
Partners will earn revenue through:
This model improves our expansion potential by creating opportunities for more sales through expanded distribution via our partner’s network/markets. Strategic alliances will allow us to access untapped markets, projecting, for example, a 2x increase in revenue potential within 24 months.
As a high school team, our costs are limited to:
This keeps the project safe, realistic and budget-conscious while still producing meaningful results for other entities to build and develop.
By collaborating with experienced mentors and partnering with professionals in the industry, we hope that our system can eventually be developed into a topical anti-inflammatory product. Future teams and groups can build on our designs to explore this research for real-world application potential.
We also visited Curcuma Beauty and spoke with the Founder, Dr. Loganathan Doraisamy (Physicist, Entrepreneur), who was willing to collaborate with us to help get our research developed into a product that could be introduced into the real world.