National and international collaborations mark first six months of this year
Hennigsdorf b. Berlin, 29 September 2021 – During the first half of 2021, BELANO medical AG was able to consolidate its position as a developer and manufacturer of probiotic and microbiotic ingredients, both in Germany and internationally. The biotechnology company enjoyed exceptionally strong growth in the market for cosmetic and medical skincare. Since the beginning of the year, cooperation agreements entered with the German Müller chain of retail stores and the Austrian Bipa chain of drugstores have boosted sales of medical skincare.
In addition, BELANO medical delivered greater volumes of its microbiotic ingredient, in particular to businesses in the pharmaceutical industries which use it for skincare or other care products, or successfully sell ready-delivered formulations under their brand. During the first half of the current business year, new collaborations were entered with the German Henkel AG as well as the Dutch company AixSwiss which produces the “nupure probaderm“ skincare. In these collaborations and international sales, the active ingredient developed and patented by BELANO medical – which is based on a strain of natural lactic acid bacteria and stimulates the growth of healthy bacteria, e.g. staphylococcus epidermidis, contributing to the skin flora’s regeneration – plays a key role.
Successful in Biotechnology and Dermatology
“The past two business quarters were a great success for BELANO medical”, welcomes CEO Dr. Bernd Wegener this development. “In a growing biotechnology market, we succeeded in gaining a position at the very top, in particular with regard to biologically based dermatology”. Years of research based on an extensive collection of bacterial strains had paid off. “Both our cooperation partners and the biotechnology market as such hold our scientific expertise and the practical relevance of our research and product development in high esteem.”
This was also demonstrated by the fact that “Baby Hydro Gel”, which BELANO medical developed and marketed, was listed as a global trend product. The gel entered the market at the beginning of the year, and three months ago was picked from the product portfolios of more than 500 exhibitors at the B2B beauty and cosmetics fair to be listed as one of the best new developments. All told, BELANO medical currently offers a dozen own brand products in the area of dermatology or medical skincare.
Rising significance of microbiome and probiotics
In recent years, market demand for probiotic products and research results has skyrocketed. Professor Dr. Christine Lang, Chief Scientific Officer at BELANO medical AG and Professor of Microbiology at the Technical University (TU) Berlin, expects interest to continue growing in the future. “In recent years, we’ve made considerable progress in researching the microbiome and its significance for human health. At the same time, however, a greater area remains unexplored, and it is here that there is enormous untapped potential for more care and medical products which are completely natural and probiotic.”
Researching the microbiome also had great significance beyond the subject of health. “There’s a huge number of industrial and social processes which have traditionally relied on fossil inputs, we gradually intend to reorganize these and turn them into a natural circular economy based on biomass, this is a global project”, emphasizes Lang, who until two years chaired the German Bioeconomy Council. In a best-case scenario, biomass could be used in the sustainable production of high-grade materials and end products and waste be decomposed microbiologically and readied for re-synthesis.
B2C and B2B grow simultaneously
For its extensive research activities, BELANO medical received, among others, a grant commitment by the State of Brandenburg. In addition, the company issued convertibles with a total volume of up to 15 million euros at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in December last year. These funds are intended for future research and development, as well as the expansion of national and international sales.
Here, the biotechnology company equally targets end-users and, in the B2B area, branded companies. Since its August launch, the new online shop (https://ibiotics.de/) with integrated skincare counseling and product finder has reached more 700,000 people. This end-user focused approach is to be stepped up. At the same time, business customers have already placed orders for the following year 2022. Hence, BELANO medical’s commercial activities continued to develop favorably also during the second half of the current business year.