LRLCY Loreal Co (PK)

   By Nick Kostov 
 

PARIS-Product testing is getting hairier at L'Oreal (OR.FR, LRLCY).

The French cosmetics giant on Wednesday said that it is partnering with bioprinting startup Poietis to figure out how to print a follicle capable of producing hair.

"It will open a really huge area not only to evaluate our new products but also to acquire new knowledge around hair growth, hair gain and hair loss," said Jose Cotovio, a director in L'Oreal's Research & Innovation unit.

The company gave no precise timeframe for when the printed samples would be able to grow hair, but Fabien Guillemot, chief executive and chief scientific officer at Poietis, said it would likely "take more than two years but less than 10."

Under the current technology, bioprinting a hair follicle involves layering cells using a laser beam. The living biological tissue created must then be matured for around three weeks before it can be used in tests.

The idea of "printing" objects, so-called 3D printing, once seemed outlandish but it has already made the leap from science fiction to startup. L'Oreal's project with Poietis would come under the banner of 4D printing--3D printing but with designs that continue to evolve after manufacture.

So far researchers can take a real hair and once placed in the right environment allow it to continue to grow for a few days. With Poietis' help, L'Oreal aims to gain added insight into an earlier phase of the hair growing process.

In time, printed hair follicles could also have value in a medical scenario, Mr. Guillemot said.

This isn't the first partnership l'Oreal has signed with a 3D printing start-up. The company last year joined forces with San Diego-based firm Organovo as it looks to print samples of live human skin to test its products.

L'Oreal spent about 3.1% of its revenue, or 794 million euros $891 million) on research and development last year.

Write to Nick Kostov at nick.kostov@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 28, 2016 04:14 ET (08:14 GMT)

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