The Beauty-Care Market Lures Drug Developers

Cancer drug researchers typically don’t spend much time thinking about antiwrinkle creams. Kleanthis Xanthopoulos, who holds a Ph.D. in molecular biology, does. A few years ago the chief executive officer of Regulus Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company developing cancer and atherosclerosis drugs, created a separate company of his own, Senté, to launch a line of skin-care products under that brand name. “I was thinking, ‘How can we take the rigor of high-end science and apply that not to drugs, but what we call life-enhancing consumer products that aren’t regulated by the FDA?’ ” says Xanthopoulos.

The scientist sees a big market catering to middle-aged women (and, increasingly, men) who would like to push back against sagging facial skin and dark undereye circles. Cosmetics companies have long ruled this domain. Now veterans of pharmaceutical firms are using their knowledge to grab a piece of the $1.2 billion U.S. luxury skin-care business, which has grown about 20 percent in each of the last two years, according to market researcher NPD Group.