Outer Biosciences, founded by Michael Polansky, is using an AI model and a proprietary system to keep human skin tissue alive for up to a month to test new cosmetic ingredients.
Key facts
- •Outer Biosciences keeps human skin tissue alive for up to a month to observe biological processes like collagen remodeling and barrier repair.
- •The company uses an AI model to predict the effects of chemicals on skin, improving its predictive accuracy with each test.
- •Outer Biosciences plans to license its discovered cosmetic ingredients to beauty and pharmaceutical brands.
- •The company has raised approximately $23 million in funding to date.
- •Outer Biosciences currently employs 19 people, with most staff based near Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Michael Polansky, founder of the startup Outer Biosciences, has developed a system to maintain living human skin tissue outside the body for up to a month. By combining this living tissue with an AI model, the company tests potential cosmetic ingredients to see how they affect skin functions over time. The startup aims to license these findings to beauty and pharmaceutical companies rather than launching its own consumer brand.
By the numbers
Sourcing and Maintaining Living Tissue
Outer Biosciences obtains human skin tissue that would otherwise be discarded after surgeries, primarily plastic surgery. The company sources this tissue through non-profit and commercial biobanks, such as the National Disease Research Interchange and the Cooperative Human Tissue Network, under institutional review board oversight and donor consent. Once received, the tissue is maintained in a proprietary system that provides nutrients and removes metabolic waste, allowing it to remain viable for up to 30 days.
AI-Driven Ingredient Discovery
The company uses an AI model to predict which chemicals might benefit specific skin functions. These chemicals are then tested on the living tissue, and the results are fed back into the model to refine future predictions. This process has allowed the company to generate a new candidate roughly every six weeks. Currently, Outer Biosciences has six active leads in its pipeline, with four expected to reach commercialization.
Business Model and Funding
Outer Biosciences is not seeking FDA approval, as it focuses on discovering cosmetic ingredients rather than drugs. The company intends to license or sell its ingredients to other firms that will incorporate them into consumer products. To date, the startup has raised approximately $23 million from investors including Calm Capital, Brighter Capital, and Polansky’s firm, Hawktail. The company employs 19 people.
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This article was independently rewritten by ManyPress editorial AI from reporting originally published by TechCrunch.
