Merz Aesthetics celebrates new R&D center in Raleigh

Merz Aesthetics, the largest global dedicated medical aesthetics business, has opened its new Research & Development Innovation Center, North America, in Raleigh. 

The advanced facility brings together U.S. research and development employees, who previously were split between Raleigh and Mesa, Arizona, as well as additional research staff. Executives, researchers, other staff and guests celebrated the launch on Sept. 18 with ribbon-cutting and facility tours. 

“The new RDIC, North America, will support us in our scientific developments and help us deliver meaningful innovation to our customers and their patients,” said Bob Rhatigan, chief executive officer of Merz Aesthetics, in a statement. Together, Rhatigan and Samantha Kerr, Ph.D., the company’s chief scientific officer, cut the ribbon while enthusiastic employees cheered and applauded.

As reported by NCBiotech in November 2019, the Raleigh business executive was named CEO effective Jan. 1, 2020, to lead the newly defined Merz global aesthetics business, with Raleigh becoming the official global headquarters of Merz Aesthetics.

The new RDIC, North America, complements the existing RDIC, Frankfurt, in Germany. Both are part of the privately owned Merz Group, founded in 1908 and also in Frankfurt. Merz Aesthetics now has 3,000 employees in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, North America, Latin America and Asia Pacific, the company said. 

In interviews, Rhatigan and Kerr were enthusiastic about new opportunities for interactions and creativity, now that the company’s North American research team is under one roof. “We have already seen an uptick in collaborations, idea generation and speed of decisions,” Rhatigan said. 

Originally from the UK, Kerr came to Merz Aesthetics in March 2020, bringing more than 15 years’ experience in leadership roles for the global medical aesthetics industry. After spending time with researchers in Raleigh and Mesa, she soon concluded that co-locating the researchers could accelerate innovation. Research supports that premise, as a November 2023 Inc. Magazine story reported: “A recent study in Nature … reveals a significant finding: in-person teams are more likely to achieve groundbreaking advancements than their remote counterparts.”

Accomplishing ‘quite a project’

Kerr went to Rhatigan to discuss a plan and seek funding to bring together the R&D employees—a major investment. “It’s been quite a project, and I am so proud of everyone and everything that has happened,” she said. “You can actually see the innovation taking place.”

During the RDIC tour, Kerr and her research colleagues highlighted on-site equipment and technologies that once would have been outsourced, slowing product development and testing. One important RDIC feature: the energy-based device (EBD) lab, which supports the development of the company’s award-winning Ultherapy®. The therapy uses ultrasound as a non-surgical way to lift and firm skin on the neck and brow and under the chin by stimulating new collagen growth.

After showing off the RDIC and discussing the results of the two-year project, Kerr was enthusiastic about the future: “I can’t wait to keep everyone updated on our progress,” she said.

Sure enough, less than a week after the RDIC’s unveiling, Merz Aesthetics announced U.S. Food & Drug Administration approval of Ultherapy PRIME, the company’s next-generation ultrasound platform. It combines advanced technology with real-time, high-quality imaging and expands the technology’s previous therapeutic areas by addressing wrinkles on the décolletage (chest area), the company said in its announcement.

In another positive company development, Merz Aesthetics announced in late July that Xeomin [ZEE-oh-min, or incobotulinumtoxinA] had received FDA approval for use as the first and only neurotoxin for the simultaneous treatment of upper facial lines—forehead lines, frown lines and crow’s feet—expanding on facial areas for which the treatment was approved earlier.

Participating in a high-growth industry

Such advances continue to fuel Merz Aesthetics’ growth. After a significant slowdown early in the pandemic as elective procedures were canceled, the industry rebounded more quickly than expected, augmented by what Rhatigan described to CEO Magazine in 2022 as the “Zoom boom.” 

“Many were watching themselves on a small screen for 8 to 10 hours a day,” he said, and they decided to improve their appearance. That led to an unprecedented rise in medical aesthetics procedures. The pandemic, he said, “has reshaped the underpinning and fundamental growth of the market.”

Patrick Urban, president, North America, Merz Aesthetics, attended the ribbon-cutting and afterward echoed the optimism of his Merz Aesthetics colleagues. He anticipates the North American medical aesthetics business will continue to grow, with the U.S. as the largest customer.

Industry analysts agree, citing strong North American and global growth potential for the medical aesthetics industry, including a diversifying consumer base that consulting firm McKinsey said is, “more open to medical aesthetics.”

The “Zoom boom” Rhatigan mentioned “has brought in a younger adult demographic,” Urban said. But he emphasized there remains a large percentage of the population the industry hasn’t been reached yet.

That tracks McKinsey’s analysis: “The medical-aesthetics sector shows strong resilience and room for strategic innovations in business models, product portfolios, and consumer targeting.”

To address those issues, Urban said Merz Aesthetics is committed to providing more professional education and training and collaborating with a distinguished group of global key opinion leaders active in medical aesthetics. The company’s new, comprehensive educational ecosystem, Merz Aesthetics Exchange® (“MAX”), launched in late June, has already been recognized as the “Best Aesthetics Customer Educational Program” by the Aesthetic Industry Association.

“We want to advance the conversation, then empower customers to make informed choices,” he added. 

Leveraging the Raleigh area as an attractive place to work, live

Rhatigan became Merz Aesthetics CEO in January 2020 as part of a company reorganization and had served in previous leadership roles in Raleigh. He knew the location would be “an easy sell” to many of the Arizona R&D employees and others now working at the RDIC, North America, as well as prospective employees.

“The quality of life here is fantastic—a big draw—with access to major universities such as Duke, UNC, North Carolina State University and North Carolina Central University,” he said. “This area has a lot of local talent, plus a very intuitive, comfortable feel,” he added.

It also helps, he said, that, “North Carolina is a pivotal life sciences global player. We have been able to bring in people from other states such as New York and California, and from around the world: Latin America, the UK, and Germany, "among others." Merz Aesthetics managers have participated in several North Carolina Biotechnology Center events such as career change and marketing panel discussions.

It doesn’t hurt that Merz Aesthetics was selected in September for the 2024 Fortune Best Workplaces in Health Care List. This is the third consecutive year that Merz Aesthetics has earned a spot on this celebrated list for the business’ dedication to its employee experience, a company announcement said.

Advancing science, opportunities

Merz Aesthetics and others in the industry are pursuing even more advanced scientific opportunities through regenerative medicine, using the body’s cells to help repair and grow tissue. A January 2023 issue of the journal Regenerative Medicine noted, “Regenerative aesthetics is a burgeoning field for skin rejuvenation and skin health restoration.”

In January 2024, Merz Aesthetics announced it was investing in regenerative medicine by leading a Series A funding round for Acorn Biolabs, a personalized regenerative medicine company with offices in Toronto, Canada, and Los Angeles. The company offers the world’s first non-invasive, follicle-based, stem cell cryopreservation service and is developing treatments made from a client’s cells. The company’s announcement read, in part:

In collaboration with industry experts, Merz Aesthetics is leading the charge to define regenerative aesthetics and establish it as a distinct field with its own goals and parameters. Merz Aesthetics is actively working to educate practitioners and support them in educating their patients on the importance of regenerative aesthetics as the field continues to grow and evolve. 

Overall, 2024 has been an eventful and successful year for Merz Aesthetics. Regional and global leaders alike look forward to future advances, growth and opportunities, especially, as Rhatigan said, “We see the trend to normalize self-care,” including medical aesthetics.