On July 3, Estée Lauder Companies brand Clinique unveiled the CX Skin Source Deep Repair Hydrating Series at its China Innovation R&D Center. LuxeCO was invited to attend the launch event.
The launch is the world's first skincare product featuring recombinant PDRN as its core ingredient, and also the first local innovation to be developed in China and brought to market first since Estée Lauder Companies was recognized in March this year as one of the first batch of large-enterprise open innovation centers in Shanghai's Minhang District.
In recent years, with the spread of science-based skincare and the growth of medical aesthetics consumption, consumer demand for pre-procedure stabilization, post-procedure recovery and long-term skin management has continued to rise. Against this trend, Estée Lauder Companies has in recent years steadily strengthened coordination among medical research, clinical validation and product development, and has partnered with medical institutions and research platforms in the hope of shortening the cycle from consumer insight to scientific development to product launch.
At the event, Zeng Danning, Deputy Director of Insight and Innovation R&D at Estée Lauder Companies, said the group has proposed a "full-cycle skin management" framework covering three scenarios — at home, in clinic and on the go — based on the development of China's medical aesthetics market. Among these, "on the go" mainly refers to consumers' care needs as they return to daily life after completing medical aesthetics procedures, and related products have gradually expanded from repair skincare to categories such as sun care, base makeup and color cosmetics.
On the R&D side, Estée Lauder Companies has in recent years conducted clinical research with professional medical institutions around medical aesthetics procedures such as AOPT intense pulsed light, radiofrequency microneedling and Thermage, evaluating the application effects of different skincare regimens in medical aesthetics scenarios to provide clinical data support for product development.
The Clinique CX Skin Source Deep Repair Hydrating Series launched this time is also a new product under this R&D system. Cai Ling, Vice President of Estée Lauder Companies China and General Manager of Clinique and Aveda China, said that in 2024 Clinique launched the brand's first Class II medical device recombinant collagen series, including dressings and ampoule products; the CX Skin Source Deep Repair Hydrating Series launched this time further introduces recombinant PDRN, marking the latest achievement in Clinique's continuous iteration of core ingredients and product solutions.
Note: PDRN (Polydeoxyribonucleotide) is a class of bioactive ingredients composed of DNA fragments that has been widely used in medical aesthetics and functional skincare in recent years, mainly to support skin repair and barrier maintenance. Recombinant PDRN is prepared through biosynthesis and other technologies and, compared with traditional animal-derived PDRN (such as salmon), offers certain advantages in raw material stability, purity and large-scale production.
Notably, the recombinant PDRN raw material used in this series comes from Estée Lauder Companies China's "Ya Chuang Wei Lai" (Future Innovation) open innovation competition. The relevant technology was provided by a local technology company and, after technical screening, entered the group's R&D system and was ultimately applied to the products launched this time.
He Guangwen, Vice President of Estée Lauder Companies China Innovation R&D Center, said that in the future the group will continue to work through the "Ya Chuang Wei Lai" platform with local biotech companies and research institutions to introduce more Chinese innovative technologies and ingredients, and will combine them with the group's global R&D system to advance product development.
In addition to Clinique, Estée Lauder Companies has in recent years continued to refine its medical aesthetics-related product portfolio. La Mer has launched care products for pre- and post-procedure repair; the Estée Lauder brand covers different care stages with products such as Advanced Night Repair, Re-Nutriv and Perfectionist Collagen series; and Dr.Jart+ has launched the Kx series, expanding the application of functional skincare in medical aesthetics care scenarios.
In recent years, the Chinese market has become an important part of Estée Lauder Companies' global R&D system. The group continues to expand local R&D investment, working through the "Ya Chuang Wei Lai" innovation platform and the Shanghai Minhang District large-enterprise open innovation center with local biotech companies, startups and research institutions to accelerate the industrialization of innovative ingredients and technologies and to drive Chinese R&D results into the global product development system.
Fan Jiayu, President and CEO of Estée Lauder Companies China, said that the Chinese market has become an important part of the group's global innovation system. In the future, the group will continue to rely on its global R&D capabilities and strengthen cooperation with local research institutions, innovative companies and industry partners to bring more local innovations to productization.
丨Image source: official press release, on-site photos by LuxeCO
丨Editor: LuxeCO
