Frost & Sullivan in collaboration with Chuangjian Medical have released the 'White Paper on Reorganized Type XVII Collagen | Synthetic Biology for Anti-Aging and Repair (with full-text access available upon request)'

Qian Song, CEO of Chuangjian Medical, delivered the opening speech for the meeting. He stated that the Chuangjian research team has successfully used synthetic biology technology to achieve breakthroughs in the green preparation and industrial production of recombinant type XVII collagen. This time, Chuangjian Medical, in collaboration with Frost & Sullivan, jointly released the 'White Paper on Recombinant Type XVII Collagen', aiming to promote exchanges and cooperation in the field of recombinant collagen and facilitate healthy and rapid development of the industry.

Qian Song, CEO of Chuangjian Medical

Li Qian, consulting director of the Life Sciences Business Unit at Frost & Sullivan Greater China, stated at the launch ceremony that the recombinant collagen market has enormous potential, with a CAGR of 63.0% from 2017 to 2021. By 2027, the market size of recombinant collagen in China is expected to reach 108.3 billion; in the sub-market areas, the market size of efficacy skincare products is expected to exceed 20 billion by 2027, and the market size of medical adhesives is expected to reach tens of billions. It is believed that with policy promotion and industry development, the potential of the recombinant collagen market will be further unleashed.

Li Qian, Consulting Director of Life Sciences Business Unit, Frost & Sullivan Greater China Region

The 'White Paper on Recombinant Type XVII Collagen' starts with the structural characteristics of type XVII collagen, introducing its amino acid sequence, three-dimensional structure, and interactions with other proteins. It also systematically elaborates on its relationship with autoimmune skin diseases and cancer, as well as its key regulatory roles in skin aging, hair loss, graying, and wound repair. Taking the design and synthetic production of recombinant type XVII collagen as an example, it describes the characteristics and advantages of obtaining recombinant type XVII collagen using synthetic biology recombination technology, provides a detailed evaluation of its biological activity, and looks ahead to the potential application value of recombinant type XVII collagen. Frost & Sullivan hopes that this white paper can help readers better understand the importance and application potential of type XVII collagen, provide valuable references for the research and application of recombinant type XVII collagen, and offer insights for researchers and practitioners in related fields.

The following is an excerpt from the white paper. For more details, scan the QR code to obtain the full version:

Collagen XVII (also known as COL17 / BP180 / BPAG2) is a transmembrane protein that plays a crucial role in maintaining the connections between intracellular and extracellular structural elements involved in epidermal adhesion. Collagen XVII is expressed in various tissues, including skin, colon, esophagus, placenta, small intestine, stomach, etc., with the highest expression levels and concentration in the skin. Collagen XVII is a key factor in skin aging and wound repair, playing an important role in maintaining the 'youthfulness' of the skin, supporting hair follicle stem cells (hair loss, graying, etc.), and promoting wound healing; it is also associated with the occurrence of various diseases, including autoimmune blistering skin diseases, cancer, hair loss, etc.

For the extraction of collagen, methods such as recombinant and animal-derived (including human-derived) extraction can be used. Animal-derived extraction faces higher standards for various operational requirements due to issues such as immunogenicity and viruses. At the same time, extracting type XVII collagen, as a trace amount of collagen, will further increase the difficulty of extraction from animal sources. Recombinant collagen has more advantages than animal-derived collagen in terms of production methods, safety, biocompatibility, cost, and sustainability.

Source: Analysis by Frost & Sullivan

Scientific experiments have verified that recombinant type XVII collagen has low cytotoxicity, excellent cell adhesion activity, promotes cell migration, and facilitates hair follicle repair and regeneration. For more detailed content, please refer to the full white paper.

Source: Analysis by Frost & Sullivan

Recombinant type XVII collagen has demonstrated significant application value in biomedicine, drug research and development, skincare products, and hair care. At the same time, with the continuous growth of social demand, its market prospects will be even broader.

Source: Analysis by Frost & Sullivan

Collagen, as a natural biomedical material, has its products widely used in medical dressings, especially for treating burns, scalds, and hemostasis. Research shows that modified collagen can prevent the loss of heat and moisture from wounds during the use of medical dressings. In addition, collagen can provide a temporary biological barrier for the body, avoiding direct contact between the wound and external stimuli, promoting wound healing. Hydrogels, collagen patches, collagen sponges, and other common modified collagen dressings are examples.

Type XVII collagen has now been proven to accelerate wound healing by affecting the population dynamics and migration of stem cells. Recombinant type XVII collagen also possesses pro-migration activity and excellent biocompatibility for tissue regeneration. Additionally, collagen molecules themselves contain abundant glycine, alanine, serine, and aspartic acid, which can serve as nutrients for skin cells, facilitating epithelial cell proliferation and repair, promoting wound healing, and accelerating skin metabolism. Therefore, dressing products based on recombinant type XVII collagen are expected to further enhance the role of collagen in skin wound repair, with a broad clinical application market.

The market scale of the Chinese medical dressing market has shown strong growth along with the increasing demand for skin care. The market scale of medical dressings in China increased from 6.7 billion yuan in 2017 to 25.9 billion yuan in 2021 and is expected to grow to 97.9 billion yuan by 2027. The penetration rate of medical dressings based on recombinant collagen in the entire medical dressing market increased from 5.2% in 2017 to 18.5% in 2021 and is expected to further increase to 26.1% by 2027. The market scale of medical dressings based on recombinant collagen was 4.8 billion yuan in 2021 and is expected to grow to 25.5 billion yuan by 2027.

As a dressing product, another potential application of recombinant type XVII collagen is in the alleviation of pigmentation skin diseases. Studies have shown that applying a collagen patch to the affected area with cold compress can inhibit the conversion of tyrosine within the skin, the oxidation of casein, and melanin secretion, accelerating the fading of existing pigmented spots. It is believed that with further research and industry development, the potential for recombinant type XVII collagen in this area will be explored.

Human skin can be divided into the stratum corneum, stratum lucidum, stratum granulosum, stratum spinosum, and basal layer. Collagen is found in the dermis, accounting for about 70% of skin tissue composition. Collagen is also known as the 'soft gold of the skin.' Small molecule collagen can moisturize the skin, replenish amino acids needed by the skin, and repair damaged skin. Adding collagen to cosmetics can provide the skin with essential nutrients, and its large number of hydrophilic groups give it good moisturizing effects. In addition, collagen can also stabilize foam, regulate and stabilize pH, emulsify colloids, and reduce the irritation of surfactants and acids, bases, and other substances on the skin and hair.

Recombinant type XVII collagen possesses the general characteristics of the collagen family. Moreover, due to its close association with skin aging, recombinant type XVII collagen is expected to further enhance skincare products' anti-aging and moisturizing effects in skin care products.

The market scale of efficacy skincare products in China, measured by retail sales, has increased from 13.3 billion yuan in 2017 to 30.8 billion yuan in 2021, and is expected to reach 211.8 billion yuan by 2027. Since recombinant collagen has significant advantages over animal-derived collagen, from 2017 to 2021, the penetration rate of efficacy skincare products based on recombinant collagen increased from 6.3% to 14.9%, and is expected to further increase from 17.6% in 2022 to 30.5% in 2027. The market scale of efficacy skincare products based on recombinant collagen has increased from 800 million yuan in 2017 to 4.6 billion yuan in 2021, and is expected to reach 645 billion yuan by 2027.

The 'Recombinant Type XVII Collagen White Paper' systematically explains the structure, function, mechanism of type XVII collagen, as well as the technical advantages, application value, and scenarios of recombinant type XVII collagen. It aims to explore the unique advantages and application prospects of new materials in skin anti-aging and disease treatment. For more content, please refer to the complete version.