Recombinant Collagen Sees Significant Growth in China's Cosmetic Market
- Chaileedo Press
- Jul 20, 2023
- 6 min read
On July 20th, Chinese company Jinbo Bio was listed on the Beijing Stock Exchange, becoming the first listing recombinant collagen company in China's A-share market. As the concept of efficacy skincare becomes increasingly popular, recombinant collagen has also gained more attention in the Chinese cosmetics market.
It is expected that by 2026, the market size of recombinant collagen for cosmetics will reach 81 billion yuan ($11.27 billion), surpassing hyaluronic acid to become the largest category of professional skincare ingredient.
Jinbo Bio's revenue surged by 67.5% in 2022
According to public information, Jinbo Bio, founded in 2008, applies technologies such as structural biology and protein rational design. With recombinant collagen products and anti-HPV biological protein products as their core products, the company is gradually achieving success in the medical, medical aesthetics, and cosmetic fields.
From a revenue perspective, Jinbo Bio has seen double-digit growth in the past two years, with revenue increasing by 67% to 390 million yuan ($54.28 million) last year. In terms of net profit, the company has achieved a compound annual growth rate of over 85% in the past two years, with a growth rate of 90% to 109 million yuan last year. In 2022, its net profit margin reached 27.91%, surpassing many other listed beauty companies.
In the first quarter of this year, Jinbo Bio continued to achieve high growth: revenue increased by 98.28% to 128 million yuan ($ 17.81 million), and net profit increased by 180.94% to 43 million yuan ($5.98 million), reaching a new high in growth rate.
Jinbo Bio's main products can be classified according to core ingredients such as recombinant collagen products, anti-HPV biological protein products, and other products. Among them, the proportion of recombinant collagen products in the main business revenue has been increasing year by year. From 2020 to 2022, the revenue from this part of the product was 101 million yuan ($14.06 million), 163 million yuan ($22.69 million), and 334 million yuan ($46.48 million), accounting for 62.96%, 69.81%, and 85.60% respectively. In 2022, the growth rate reached 105%, and the proportion exceeded 80% for the first time.
From 2020 to 2022, the revenue of Jinbo Bio's efficacy skincare products was 54.48 million yuan ($7.58 million), 70.24 million yuan ($9.78 million), and 65.97 million yuan ($9.18 million), accounting for 33.89%, 30.10%, and 16.91% of the company's total revenue, respectively.
According to the prospectus, Jinbo Bio has completed major basic research on the recombinant human collagen types I, III, and XVII, and has applied them in different fields, such as gynecology, dermatology, surgery, otolaryngology/oral medicine, and skincare. The company has also stated that it is committed to developing 28 types of human collagen, accelerating the original innovation of recombinant human collagen.
In addition, Jinbo Bio has successfully discovered the special functional area of human type III collagen and analyzed the atomic structure of its core functional area, thereby opening up the research path of "humanization". The company has achieved large-scale production of type III recombinant human collagen with a triple helix structure.
Jinbo Bio's listing is the second recombinant collagen company to go public within two years, following Giant Biogene's successful listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange at the end of last year. It also reflects the capital market's pursuit of recombinant collagen.
The market size for recombinant collagen is expected to reach the hundred-billion yuan level
In the past, collagen was primarily obtained through animal extraction technologies, which resulted in products with risks of pathogenic viruses, immune rejection, and allergies. Recombinant collagen, however, is modeled on human collagen genes. This type of collagen is highly consistent with the body's collagen, has excellent skin compatibility and tissue compatibility, does not easily trigger an immune rejection response, can be absorbed and assimilated by the dermis of the skin, enhances the expansion force of damaged skin, restores skin elasticity, and has multiple effects such as repair, hydration, brightening, and filling. Therefore, the market demand for recombinant collagen is increasing.
Since the breakthrough of recombinant collagen technology in China in 2000, recombinant collagen has highly humanized characteristics, avoiding the biological risks present in animal-based sources, while retaining the excellent properties of collagen. According to data from Frost & Sullivan, from 2017 to 2022, the compound growth rate of the recombinant collagen market was 63%, and it is expected to grow by 42.4% from 2022 to 2027, reaching a market size of 108.3 billion yuan ($15.07 billion), accounting for 60% of the collagen market share.
Collagen has broad market prospects in the field of skincare, and its characteristics precisely match anti-aging needs. It is expected that by 2026, the market size of recombinant collagen will reach 81 billion yuan ($11.27 billion), surpassing hyaluronic acid to become the largest category of professional skincare ingredient.
According to a report published by Southwest Securities, in the field of skincare, it is expected that by 2027, the end retail market size of recombinant collagen will break through 300 billion yuan ($41.75 billion), surpassing hyaluronic acid to become the largest ingredient. The compound growth rate of recombinant collagen is expected to be 44.3% from 2022 to 2027, exceeding the growth rate of other ingredients, and by 2027, the penetration rate is expected to approach 30%.
Currently, the core ingredients of efficacy skin care products are mainly hyaluronic acid and plant extracts, and the market size of skincare products based on collagen is relatively low. However, with the breakthrough and maturation of recombinant technology, the anti-aging effects of collagen are being increasingly explored. It is expected that the market size of skincare products based on collagen will grow rapidly. According to statistics from Frost & Sullivan, the compound growth rate of recombinant collagen skin care products will reach 55% from 2022 to 2027, surpassing hyaluronic acid (41.3%) and plant extracts (30.4%), and the penetration rate is expected to reach 30.5%. Therefore, collagen will become one of the skincare ingredients with the largest application space.
China's cosmetics companies continue to enter the market
With the expanding market demand and a series of policies leading the industry towards standardization and regularization, the recombinant collagen industry in China is experiencing rapid development.
On June 21, 2018, the National Health Commission of China released the National Food Safety Standard for Collagen Peptides, which provided a detailed explanation of the definition and technical standards of collagen peptides. In March 2021, the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) approved the revision project of the industry standard for Recombinant Collagen, and in the same month, regulations were issued clarifying the core terms and feature terms for recombinant collagen biomaterials. This effectively regulated the confusion in the market brought about by naming, and promoting high-quality development in the industry. In April of the same year, the NMPA issued the Principles for Classification of Recombinant Collagen Medical Products, standardizing the management attributes and category determination of recombinant collagen medical products.
In May this year, the National Medical Products Administration's Medical Device Technical Review Center released the Guidance Principles for the Registration Review of Recombinant Collagen Wound Dressings and the Evaluation Guidance Principles for Recombinant Humanized Collagen Raw Materials, establishing a unified evaluation method and standard for recombinant humanized collagen.
With the industry becoming more standardized and regulated, the domestic recombinant collagen market is showing flourishing competition. More and more enterprises are entering this field, and some leading companies such as Giant Biogene, Trauer Biotech, and Jinbo Bio have all gone public.
Giant Biogene, one of the companies with the largest production capacity for recombinant collagen in the world, went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on November 4, 2022. Its recombinant collagen products are mainly used in the field of skincare, and it is one of the first companies in the world to realize mass production of recombinant collagen cosmetics. Giant Biogene owns eight major brands, covering a variety of application scenarios including cosmetics, medical dressings, private care, oral care, and scar repair. Among them, CONFIME and COLLGENE are the company's two flagship products, accounting for over 90% of revenue.
Jinbo Bio, which went public on the North China Exchange today, stated that the company has completed basic research on humanized collagen types I, III, XVII, etc., and has been applied in various fields such as gynecology, dermatology, surgery, ENT/oral medicine, and skincare. The goal of Jinbo Bio is to develop all 28 types of human collagen, accelerating the original development of recombinant humanized collagen.
Trauer Biotech, which went public on the NEEQ as early as August 2002, mainly focuses on the field of medical devices and skincare products. The medical devices include collagen dressings, gels, and sponges, which account for 57% of revenue; the skincare products mainly include the Trauemy brand, which includes collagen emulsion, essence, etc.
In addition, the domestic cosmetic company Marubi successfully developed a stable recombinant double collagen. This collagen combines type I and III collagen and is completely identical to the amino acid sequence of natural collagen in the human body, with the advantages of fast absorption, good effect, and high safety. The company's skincare brand "Marubi" has been developing for many years, forming a rich product series, and the newly launched double collagen series is the main product series carrying the recombinant double collagen technology.
The domestic hyaluronic acid leader, Bloomage Biotech, is also actively laying out in the collagen field. The company acquired 51% of the shares of Yi Er Kang Bio in April 2022, formally entering the collagen industry. Yi Er Kang has animal-sourced collagen production technology, and its main products are collagen sponges and artificial bones.
Foreign cosmetics giants are also showing great interest in China's recombinant collagen. In August 2022, Shiseido, a Japanese cosmetics giant, led the investment in Trautec through its PE fund. Trautec, established in 2015, holds multiple patents related to recombinant collagen for cosmetic medical and cosmetic use. This is also the first company that Shiseido has invested in China.
With the increasing standardization and regularization of domestic policies, flourishing competition among domestic enterprises, and foreign capital starting to lay out, the recombinant collagen market in China has begun to usher in a golden age.
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