The Estée Lauder Companies is partnering with Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s renowned Langer Lab to fuel ingredient innovation.
The new long-term partnership will center around the advancement of biodegradable polymers primed to replace common personal-care ingredients found in cleansers, sun-care, cosmetics and more. The partnership will also focus on studying new solutions to help combat the effects of visible sunlight and blue light on skin.
“MIT is one of the world’s leading institutions in many fields of science, and in particular, in the invention of materials,” Carl Haney, ELC’s evp of research, product and innovation, told Glossy. MIT’s Langer Lab is overseen by Robert S. Langer, a researcher with over 1,000 patents who is often credited as the most cited engineer in history, according to the Science History Institute. Dr. Langer’s patents have been licensed or sublicensed to over 400 pharmaceutical, chemical, biotechnology and medical device companies, according to MIT.
ELC’s Haney, whose background is also in chemical engineering, is a longtime fan of the Langer Lab’s ability to focus on outcome-based science. Haney told Glossy that ELC is looking for the same “breakthrough science” that MIT is known for in this new cosmetics-focused project. Early ingredient formulation advancements could become clear in as little as a few months. Haney hopes for high-quality ingredients that are sustainable, able to be used in new formulations and form factors, and can offer new benefits, he told Glossy.
The multi-year collaboration is based around a chain of molecules, or a polymer, named “degradable poly(b-amino ester) microparticles” by MIT, or “bio-polymer” for short. They are the result of decades of research at MIT. The genius of these new polymers is their ability to naturally degrade after being used. For example, they could replace molecules and polymers that are evasive or persistent in our natural ecosystem, like “forever chemicals” including 1,4-dioxane, chemical sunscreens like oxybenzone, or anything that sheds microplastics.
Ongoing studies, which are partially funded by ELC, could result in new ingredients for the cosmetics industry in just a few years, said Dr. Ana Jaklenec, principal investigator in the Langer Lab at MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research.
The possibilities are vast for these bio-polymers, which could replace silicons in cosmetics, synthetic fabric in clothing, active ingredients in chemical sunscreens, and food stabilizers in supplements or packaged food, all of which are falling out of vogue with consumers due to health and environmental concerns.
MIT’s Dr. Jaklenec told Glossy that she and her team are actively trying different bio-polymers to determine what common ingredients can be replaced.
Haney said ELC is focused on broad goals that will allow Dr. Jaklenec and her team to find the best use case for the new science. For example, instead of aiming to replace a facial cleanser’s silicone with a biodegradable alternative, which is one possible outcome, Haney is focused on creating and testing new innovation before determining its best use case across ELC’s portfolio.
ELC does not disclose the financial investments made across its research partnerships, but did note that the conglomerate’s interest lies in the right to use and distribute the science related to cosmetics. Meanwhile, MIT has vested interest in its food applications.
For example, similar science helped MIT stabilize vitamin A in 2022, a technology now used by the Melinda Gates Foundation for increasing access to nutrition in developing countries. VitaKey, a company founded by Dr. Jaklenec, Dr. Langer and others, will also use the tech to add nutrients to a variety of foods and beverage innovations.
ELC is known for its research partnerships across academia. For example, ELC recently invested in scalp research to fuel its hair-care portfolio through the University of Bradford, an institution in the U.K. that studies the scalp and hair. ELC also recently invested in a partnership with Dresden University of Technology to study perfume and emotion.
ELC’s brands include Estée Lauder, Clinique, Origins, M·A·C, La Mer, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, Bumble and bumble, and more, which are distributed in more than 150 countries. As reported by Glossy, ELC announced its earnings from its first quarter of fiscal year 2025 in November. The company reported a 4% decrease in net sales, falling to $3.36 billion from $3.52 billion during the same period in the prior year.
The second part of the partnership will focus on studying new solutions to help combat the effects of visible sunlight and blue light on human skin. This part of the partnership is more hush-hush, said MIT’s Dr. Jaklenec. She told Glossy that her group already has many good candidates for skin protection against visible and blue light, but until this research is published, it will remain top secret.
In Dr. Jaklenec’s dream world, these bio-polymers would result in a leave-on protective skin cream that guards against disease from visible light and environmental stressors while providing cosmetic benefits. And if things go well, innovation like this could reach store shelves in less than a decade, she told Glossy.