Simply More Beautiful

SCHOTT TopPac^® polymer syringes offer more comfort for doctors and patients when injecting highly viscous drugs (HVD). The SCHOTT Pharmaceutical Systems development team won the 2015 SCHOTT Innovation Award for its innovative syringe design for cosmetic dermal fillers.

Christine Fuhr

Time increasingly leaves a mark – and nowhere more so than on the face. That is because, like all organs, skin ages. The process is genetically programmed and relentless. Cell division declines; connective tissue cells create less and less new, stabilizing collagen; and the skin loses elasticity. How long a face looks young also depends on lifestyle. Too many UV rays from lying in the sun or on the tanning bed as well as smoking accelerate the aging process, which becomes visible to the naked eye in the mid-30s – and creases turn into wrinkles. For people who want to trick nature and look fresh and relaxed even in advanced age, the cosmetics industry offers a wide range of options. The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) documented over 23 million surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures worldwide in 2013. Eight million of those were wrinkle treatments. Skin tightening procedures with botulinum toxin A (Botox) accounted for more than five million of those and dermal fillers for three million.

Botox inhibits the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, blocking stimuli transmission and partially paralyzing muscles. This process is particularly effective for treating lines in the upper third of the face around the eyes and forehead (above all what are known as worry lines, frown lines, and crow’s feet). Experts say that Botox is effective for approximately four to five months until the body has broken it down and the muscles function normally again.

Dermal fillers work slightly differently. They are injected under wrinkles to bolster cheeks, tighten the neck, or create lips. Of the approximately 160 cosmetic fillers available for wrinkle injections, hyaluronic acid is one of the best known. Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring element in the body that is responsible for transporting nutrients and, with its water-binding properties, provides padding between cells, ensuring elastic, tight skin. The amount of hyaluronic acid in a person’s body decreases with age. The result: deep and particularly static wrinkles that appear just when the face is relaxed. Fillers made of hyaluronic acid provide relief for that, make the skin around the mouth and nose look smoother, reduce laugh lines and other small lines around the eyes, and restore lost volume in the cheeks or lips. The body disintegrates the filler material after 12 to 18 months.

Anil Busimi, Head of Global Product Management for the Syringe Business, says that, ”With the development of our SCHOTT TopPac^® polymer syringes for HVD, we have created an expandable product platform in a growing market segment.” Apart from its cosmetic applications, hyaluronic acid is also used for joint problems, wounds, and eye operations (cataracts). More than 70 companies are engaged in the hyaluronic acid market, which is estimated to have a global market volume of $4-5 million.

The new SCHOTT TopPac^® polymer syringe for HVD was presented with the 2015 SCHOTT Innovation Award. Applicant criteria were customer benefit, market, competition, and intellectual property. When he presented the award, Dr. Frank Heinricht, Chairman of the SCHOTT Board of Management, said, ”The SCHOTT Innovation Award honors top innovations that have demonstrably proven themselves in the marketplace and been successfully adopted by our customers.” And hyaluronic acid users, namely doctors and patients, benefit too – with more comfort and less pain.