Re-Q Bets Big on Longevity Skincare

With all the hype surrounding longevity, brands are going all in when it comes to reversing signs of aging and preserving skin’s integrity.

One of them is Re-Q Health, a brand co-founded by dermatologist Dr. Doris Day and Rahul Mehta, co-founder and CEO of biotech company Rapalogix Health. In June, the company successfully closed a $20 million Series A financing round co-led by Woodline Partners and GordonMD Global Investments LP. The proceeds will support the rapid commercial expansion of Re-Q Health, the company’s professional skincare line.

Mehta is a seasoned leader in pharmaceutical research and development with over three decades of experience spanning academia and industry. As co-founder and CEO of Rapalogix Health, Mehta applies findings from longevity science to dermatology and aesthetic medicine aimed to drive the creation of evidence-based skincare products supported by clinical data. His work is focused on advancing beyond symptom treatment to uncover the biological mechanisms of skin aging with the goal of enabling skin’s natural regenerative processes for physiologically balanced skin rejuvenation.

The “Re” in the name represents resetting and rebalancing, while the “Q” refers to skin quiescence, or cell’s repairing and resting state, said officials.

The founders want to ushering “new era” of “pro-longevity” skincare.

Re-Q Health Pro-Longevity Face Serum has what developers call a “first-of-its-kind” technology that works at the cellular level to support fibroblast function and restore skin’s ability to renew, repair and regain its youthful resilience.

RLX-201 Technology

Utilizing RLX-201 technology, a patented longevity molecule that the makers say resets cell’s ability to repair itself, fibroblasts are restored to a healthier, more youthful state. Fibroblasts are the cells responsible for maintaining skin’s structure. With age, fibroblasts slow collagen production and reduced responsiveness to skincare and treatments.

The serum’s lightweight formula is said to improve firmness, calm visible signs of stress and support long-term skin health. The result overtime is a radiant, youthful complexion.

Clinical Studies

According to Dr. Day, clinical trial was conducted with a double-blinded, placebo-controlled study with 45 women aged 35-65 of varying ethnicities and skin types. Fifteen participants received the placebo (serum’s vehicle without actives) and 30 received the serum. The 12-week study included histology as well, which is almost never done for an OTC or cosmeceutical product, she told Happi.

The study looked at skin texture, wrinkles, radiance, firmness, sagging and skin tone, as well as reviewed the histology and epigenetic profiling for skin biologic age. Image analysts scrutinized the visual skin age profiling.

“What we saw was that at 12 weeks, there was a significant improvement in firmness, sagging, tone and orbital elasticity,” said Dr. Day.

Improvements in skin quality, such as radiance, luminosity, skin texture and cheek wrinkles were also observed.

On the histology side, skin explants from a 56-year-old donor’s skin were pretreated with RLX-201 and a fibroblast stimulator was added. Without treatment, most of the donor’s fibroblasts were “wide, fat and short and not efficient.” Post-treatment, the fibroblasts were long, narrow and beautiful, Day said.

“When you measure the functionality of these fibroblasts, they behave like a 23-year-old fibroblast,” noted Dr. Day. “By pretreating with our RLX-201, when you stimulate the fibroblasts they are now more efficient at doing what they do.”

Another study using the RLX-201 technology against a DNA-damaging molecule found that the cells survived and proliferated much better, resulting in no damage, according to Co-Founder Rahul Mehta.

“It keeps the cells ready to fight any damage,” said Mehta. “If blue light is causing damage, the cells can repair themselves.”