EpigenCare Named Johnson & Johnson Innovation Finalist

Personalized skin care startup EpigenCare Inc. has been named by Johnson & Johnson Innovation as a finalist in its Digital Beauty Quickfire Challenge. The challenge is designed to identify, recognize, and support the most innovative and future-forward digital beauty solutions. One of the key innovation areas that the challenge focuses on is personalization tools to simplify product selection and build regimen in a way that empowers consumers.
 
EpigenCare has developed a direct-to-consumer skin care test that assesses the current state of one's skin by looking at epigenetic markers associated with quality indicators including aging, elasticity, moisture, pigmentation and more.
 
The company is currently working on a complementary digital platform that skincare companies can use to match their existing products to consumers on a personalized basis. The matching process is through a recommendation algorithm based on the epigenetic effects of product ingredients on the consumers' tested epigenetic markers of their skin.
 
To ensure consumers' privacy is protected, EpigenCare is implementing blockchain technology on the digital platform such that consumers are designated with a blockchain transaction ID rather than with any personally identifiable information. The company's business model is for consumer data to be used only for one's exclusive benefit in the form of personalized products. Through the decentralized blockchain ledger, consumers can choose to audit how their data is being used, thereby eliminating the perceived intrusiveness often associated with direct-to-consumer tests requiring DNA. 
 
EpigenCare will present at the JLABS technology center in San Francisco, CA on March 27. In addition to a $50,000 grant, Johnson & Johnson Innovation will provide winners with access to a network of experts, residency for up to one year at JLABS incubator, and admission to a Johnson & Johnson Consumer Experience Center (CxC). Winners will be able to design and deploy a research initiative through the CxC.
 
Johnson & Johnson Innovation is also hosting voting process for a social award that is separate from the main award. You can watch Lee's two minute presentation video and vote for EpigenCare until March 25 towards the People's Choice Award at: https://jlabs.jnjinnovation.com/quickfire-challenges/digital-beauty.
 
The company's CEO and co-founder, William Lee, said, “It is an honor for EpigenCare to be recognized as an innovative organization. We are committed to bringing cutting-edge science in helping consumers identify skincare products that are best suited for their skin.”

Lee is scheduled to speak at Happi's Anti-Aging Conference next month in New York CIty (May 15 &16) during NYSCC's Suppliers' Day. His topic is: ”Addressing the Rise of Personalized Skin Care and Its Perceived Invasiveness Through New Digital Technologies.”
 
“True innovation doesn't just elevate product experiences and outcomes—it challenges the very definition of skin care itself,” said Sebastien Guillon, president, global beauty, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. “The next beauty tech disrupters are out there, and this Challenge will help us identify the most promising potential partners in the co-creation of meaningful, future-forward skin solutions.”