Shiseido Acquires Breakthrough Technology from Olivo Laboratories

―Innovative “Second Skin” Technology Brings New Possibilities to
Beauty―

TOKYO & NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Shiseido Company, Limited (TOKYO:4911) (“Shiseido”), a leading global
cosmetics company, announced today that its regional headquarters and
consolidated subsidiary, Shiseido Americas Corporation (“Shiseido
Americas”), has acquired substantially all of the assets of Olivo
Laboratories, LLC (“Olivo”). Olivo is a Polaris Partners-backed
Massachusetts-based startup advancing the dermatological field through
proprietary biomaterials technology, including its pioneering XPLTM*
“Second Skin” technology. The CEO is Polaris Partner Amy Schulman. Terms
of the transaction were not disclosed.
*Cross-linking Polymer Layer

Olivo’s patented approach creates a breathable, flexible and nearly
invisible artificial skin, that offers a number of benefits previously
unachievable through traditional cosmetics or even cosmetic surgery.
Olivo was founded by renowned scientists including Dr. Robert Langer*,
David H. Koch Institute Professor at Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Dr. Rox Anderson, Head of the Wellman Center of
Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Dr. Dan Anderson,
Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute
of Technology. The Olivo research and development team will join the
Shiseido Americas organization as part of the transaction.
* Dr.
Langer received more than 220 awards including the Charles Stark Draper
Prize, United States National
Medal of Science, Queen
Elizabeth Prize for Engineering and the 2014 Kyoto Prize.

This acquisition is the latest in a series of initiatives supported by
Shiseido and its Global Innovation Center to further expand its global
beauty innovation footprint. Combining Olivo's innovative technology
with Shiseido’s research and development capabilities marks a
significant leap forward in the emerging realm of "skin shape
correction,” and paves the way for the development of
products that provide instant and significantly enhanced skincare and
suncare.

Masahiko Uotani, President and CEO of Shiseido, said, “Our transaction
with Olivo is an exciting next step in our ongoing pursuit to create
entirely new categories of beauty products at a global scale as a part
of our VISION 2020, middle to long term strategy. Olivo’s
ground-breaking ‘Second Skin’ technology will join Shiseido’s already
robust innovation portfolio, which includes the personalization
technology startup MATCHCo, the artificial intelligence-empowered beauty
company Giaran, and our own Shiseido-developed OPTUNE, a digital,
personalized skincare platform. We look forward to welcoming our new
colleagues at Olivo and benefiting from the expertise of Dr. Langer as
we continue to reinvent the beauty industry and to create new products
tailored to each of our customers’ unique and personal ideals of beauty.”

Dr. Robert Langer, Co-Founder of Olivo, stated, “We use science to break
down and tackle problems. Here, we were able to really solve a pervasive
problem and create a platform with novel biomaterials. Shiseido provides
an exciting opportunity to continue executing on that mission and to
further demonstrate the many capabilities of our XPL platform. We look
forward to the future when we unlock the XPL Second Skin’s full
potential across a range of different applications.”

Amy Schulman, CEO of Olivo, noted that, “We are delighted to work with
Shiseido, a company that has the vision, resources and talent to be
pioneers in beauty science and to create a new standard for skincare in
the beauty industry.”

Marc Rey, President and CEO of Shiseido Americas, added, “As the
evolution of beauty-dedicated technologies continues apace, it becomes
increasingly important for companies like Shiseido Group to take an
external view when it comes to innovation and product development. By
joining forces with leaders in scientific research like Dr. Langer and
the Olivo team, we will continue to meet the demands of the consumer
while offering the very latest advances in science and beauty.”

About Shiseido Company, Limited
Shiseido was founded in 1872
as the first Western-style pharmacy in Japan. The business gradually
evolved into a cosmetics company, offering people the most advanced
technology and the finest aesthetics available in the East or the West.
Now, known globally as the premier cosmetics company with roots in Japan
the name Shiseido has come to represent the world’s highest standard of
quality in beauty. Shiseido’s global selection of skincare, makeup and
fragrance includes a high-performance category for special skincare, and
a brightening line. Shiseido offers products for professional beauty
salons and hairdressers, as well as body care, suncare and a skincare
line for men. Fiercely contemporary and innovative with over 140 years
in business, the Shiseido group brands are now sold in over 120
countries. For more information, please visit http://group.shiseido.com/.

About Olivo Laboratories, LLC
Olivo Laboratories was founded
to answer the unmet needs in the dermatological field, providing
solutions for skin-related medical conditions, through the development
of proprietary biomaterials technologies. Spun out of “Living Proof” in
2015, the company seeks to create benchmark solutions through perfectly
engineered products that focus on the skin’s medical and cosmetic
problems.

Contacts

Media Contacts
For Shiseido Headquarters
Tatsuyoshi Endo
Global
Communications Department
[email protected]
or
For
Shiseido Americas:
Jadzia Zielinski Tirsch, 212-805-2357
SVP,
Corporate Communications
[email protected]
or
For
Olivo Laboratories:
Hallie Kuhn
Business Development
[email protected]