Forum

When a tan is good for your health

A 25-year pharmaceutical quest for a safe, effective drug to promote tanning – for medical rather than cosmetic purposes – may be approaching a positive conclusion.

The search started in the 1980s at the University of Arizona, where scientists discovered a way to stimulate the growth of melanocytes. These cells produce melanin, the tanning pigment that protects the skin against the ill-effects of exposure to ultraviolet light. Though their research was funded by the US National Institutes of Health as a skin cancer project, the scientists also explored “lifestyle” applications.

For years, attempts to exploit the discovery oscillated between medical and cosmetic applications – without success. Then, in 2006, investors formed a new company called Clinuvel out of the previous EpiTan, and focused it on treating skin disorders.

Philippe Wolgen, Clinuvel’s CEO, says: “I don’t believe in lifestyle drugs – they’re an abuse of the system.” Any suggestion of cosmetic tanning could also prejudice the regulators against the company.

Today Clinuvel’s lead product, Scenesse, is showing encouraging clinical results against three disorders. The first is erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP), a severe light intolerance in the skin that can force sufferers to stay indoors. The second is vitiligo, the appearance of white unpigmented patches on the skin of dark-skinned people including Africans, Asians and Hispanics. The third is skin cancer in people whose immune system is suppressed following transplant surgery.

Scenesse is a chemical derivative of a natural hormone (a chain of amino acids) which stimulates melanin production in the skin. It is administered as an implant, the size of a rice grain, beneath the skin.

Wolgen says Scenesse could be available for prescription in Europe before the end of 2012. The US will follow about a year later.