PerioSciences Leverages Corporate Experience and Sophisticated Research
PerioSciences Leverages Corporate Experience and Sophisticated Research PerioSciences, L.L.C., has been researching and will manufacturer and market the industry’s first antioxidant based oral care products. The company was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, USA.
PerioSciences Leverages Corporate Experience and Sophisticated Research
PerioSciences, L.L.C., has been researching and will manufacturer and market the industry’s first antioxidant based oral care products. The company was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, USA.
Company History
PerioSciences is the third entrepreneurial venture for its founder, Russell Moon. After the 1994 sale of his first successful business in the field of finance, Mr. Moon and a business partner, Alden Pinnell, founded SkinCeuticals (www.skinceuticals.com) and its product line of antioxidant-based high-end skin care products. The product and its distribution model—with sales through dermatologists, plastic surgeons and other professionals—effectively created the “cosmeceutical” market. L’Oreal purchased SkinCeuticals in 2005, in what was honored as the “Deal of Year/Southwest” award from The Deal finance and business magazine. Moon and Pinnell also were named “Entrepreneurs of the Year/Southwest Division” by Ernst & Young in 2003. At SkinCeuticals, Moon collaborated with Jan E. Zielinski, Ph.D., a biochemistry research consultant, and Sheldon R. Pinnell, M.D., the J. Lamar Callaway Professor Emeritus of Dermatology at Duke University Medical Center. At PerioSciences, Mr. Moon maintains his association with Dr. Zielinski and Dr. Pinnell, who are both distinguished scientists and patent-holders in numerous technologies.
In early 2008, Moon enlisted the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Texas A&M Health Science Center, Baylor College of Dentistry (BCD) to determine how the antiinflammatory effects of antioxidants on skin cells would translate to the oral environment. Their research demonstrated that the same antioxidants applied to human oral cells neutralize the effects of free radicals that are caused by nicotine, alcohol, and hydrogen peroxide, which is commonly used in teeth whitening.
In 2009, Moon formed a relationship with Edward P. Allen, PhD, DDS, a leading Dallas periodontist as well as Bruce Bowers, MD, a leading cardiologist at Dallas’ Baylor Hospital. Dr. Allen is PerioSciences’ chief medical spokesperson and has helped introduce the company into the dental field. Dr. Bowers is a consultant to the company and offers unique insights into the oral/systemic link. With Dr. Allen’s help Moon formed a relationship with Sam Low, PhD, DDS, immediate past president of the American Academy of Periodontology. Drs. Allen, Bowers and Low have shared their prestigious reputations with PerioSciences and have been effective ambassadors to the fields of medicine and dentistry. Since the founding of PerioSciences, the company has developed a network of business and scientific alliances, including one with QuarTek a biomedical research and formulation firm in Research Triangle near Greensboro, North Carolina. The company has also created a robust corporate infrastructure comprising sophisticated information technology, sales and marketing capabilities, ISO 9000 certified manufacturing facilities, and a highly efficient distribution pipeline.
In January 2011, after three years of research and development, PerioSciences had a limited release in North Texas of its first prototype product. The official launch of the company will be January 2012.
Commitment to Research
Continuing, rigorous research is a hallmark of PerioSciences. The company is working with scientists at Texas A&M Health Science Center Baylor College of Dentistry and the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill on basic research regarding the links among infection, inflammation and oral and systemic disease. Already, this research has resulted in four major scientific papers with several more in process. The company has applied for patents on 10 specific antioxidants that will form the basis for emerging products and modalities for treating oral inflammation, enhancing oral wound healing and prevention of various oral diseases.
In view of the health care field’s intensive focus on inflammation and what’s called the “oral/systemic link,” a website, dentalANTIOXIDANTS.com, has been created to serve as a central clearing house for scientific studies on the subject. PerioSciences has been a sponsor of the website, which reviews, evaluates and links to myriad papers and articles from researchers around the world.
Product Line
The initial product launched by PerioSciences is the AO Pro family of products, designed to restore balance in mouth chemistry resulting in theelimination of halitosis. The prototype AO ProVantage gel has been tested in dental clinics for two years.
Reviews from dental professionals and from patients have been enthusiastic and positive with better than expected results.
Normal mouth chemistry is marked by the presence of several naturally occurring antioxidants that are part of the body’s initial defense against bacteria as well as many oral and systemic diseases. A decrease in the levels of antioxidants due to environmental or health factors and especially due to aging—upsets the chemistry balance. The imbalance can reduce the defense against bacteria and also allow overproduction of violent sulfur compounds (VSCs), which are the main cause of halitosis, i.e., bad breath. The antioxidants in the AO Pro family of products help restore natural mouth chemistry, boosting oral health and curbing halitosis.
Along with the initial formula, AO ProVantage, the additions to the AO Pro family will be AO ProVantage Blast, which is a special formula for smokers, and AO ProRinse, which will offer the same antioxidant power in an oral rinse. Other special formula are being developed for people who bleach their teeth, or experience inflammation related to dental veneers or implants, and patients who are susceptible to dry mouth, just to name a few. In addition, the company will be seeking FDA approval for a line of products designed for enhancing oral wound healing and topical anti-inflammatory therapies. A key target for these products are baby boomers who as they age require more dental work and experience more soft tissue problems.
Marketing and Distribution
PerioSciences employs a sales strategy that was extremely successful in building SkinCeuticals. It uses a professional distribution channel that markets PerioSciences products exclusively to dentists, medi-spas and other medical professionals such as OB-GYNs and cardiologists, for resale to their patients. These professional practices are well equipped to communicate the unique benefits of the product line including the importance of oral health to overall systemic health. Marketing representatives are equipped with technologically advanced Internet-based tools they can use for sales presentations, technical training, and sophisticated account management.
Another strategic innovation is the PerioSciences proprietary Direct Ship Model. The Direct Ship Model lets patients order products online at the dental or medical office and have them shipped directly from the warehouse to their home address. Professional practices are relieved of the expense and logistical burden of maintaining inventory.
