Integumen’s ticker on the London Stock Exchange is SKIN which pretty much tells an investor everything about the company.
Integumen makes full thickness human skin known as Labskin, which can be used for testing skincare and pharmaceutical products.
The skin is extremely useful for global cosmetic and pharma companies and it recently signed deals with two unnamed multinationals. Together, the contracts are worth in excess of £100,000, Integumen said, with the potential for repeat business.
Multinationals also like the skin as it means they no longer have to test on animals, a process which is viewed with disdain by militant eco pressure groups. A recent study showed that the skin can help cosmetic companies reduce development time, clinical errors and costs.
Listed in 2017, revenues soared in the first six months this year, jumping to £655,000 in the six months to the end of June, compared with just £54,000 a year earlier.
It said it has been boosted by the value in its contracts, which now command upwards of £30,000.
The firm has also significantly reduced its debt.
The growth area for Integumen is in AI. The firm has developed a Labskin AI virtual model which can do tests on psoriasis, a skin condition that causes red, flaky, crusty patches of skin covered with silvery scales.
These patches normally appear on elbows, knees, scalp and lower back. The hope is that the AI psoriasis model can eventually be put onto a chip so that dermatologists can run real time analysis on a patient and identify the psoriasis type and suggest suitable treatment.
The firms major backers include ISPartners Investment Solutions and Peel Hunt.
