Category: Blog

AMA: Mark Blaskovich of the Community for Open Antimicrobial Drug Discovery

KindofStephen

Artwork by Klari Reis, A Daily Dish

The Community for Open Antimicrobial Drug Discovery was created in 2015 to reach out to chemists, scientists, and researchers to consider screening novel compounds for antibiotic activity.

Drug resistance due to overreliance on a few antibiotics has created strains of bacteria that are becoming more and more difficult to treat.

Think of bacterial resistance like never eating red gummies. With each gummies box your stockpile of red gummies grows larger and larger. But you love gummies, so you keep eating them, and in years of time your kitchen..then your house, is packed to the brim with red gummies. You’ll need a friend who can stomach red gummies to help you. For the sake of the analogy, let’s pretend you can’t just throw the gummies out!

Bacterial resistance is similar, antibiotics target a mechanism that prevents the bacteria from surviving. Due to random mutations some bacteria don’t have this mechanism, or are unaffected by it. As the antibiotic is used more and more the mutated bacteria that are unaffected grow in population, eventually creating strains of these bacteria that the antibiotic no longer works against.

Read his AMA.

Artwork by Klari Reis, A Daily Dish

Mark Blaskovich is also a researcher and scientist, and has worked on a new class of anti-acne drugs that work to reduce activity of the melanocortin-5 receptor, which they found suppresses sebum production when applied to the skin.

Phase II clinical trials for this new anti-acne medication are currently looking for applicants, if you’re in the US, willing to be part of an experiment, have had difficulty with other acne treatments, and are comfortable with the risks of a new drug trial – this may be of interest to you!

ClinicalTrials.gov: A Study to Determine the Efficacy of Topically Applied MTC896 Gel in Subjects With Acne Vulgaris

If this new drug works, and is safe, we may hopefully reduce the reliance on antibiotics for treating acne – which is also contributing to bacterial resistance.

Jessica Alba and the Honest Company Respond to $5 Million Class Action Lawsuit

KindofStephen

The class action lawsuit seeks damages for what plaintiff Jonathan Rubin claims was deceptive and misleading marketing. The lawsuit provides evidence that The Honest Company marketed themselves at a premium based on claims that their ingredients were natural and effective.

imageReblogged from ori345love

The lawsuit also references previous complaints of their sunscreen product being ineffective.

The lawsuit goes on to point out ingredients that the plaintiff identifies as synthetic.

Labelling a cosmetic or skin care product as “natural” isn’t regulated the same way that “organic” is. Cocamidopropyl betaine is often made with coconut oil, but it involves processing with dimethylaminopropylamine, a synthetic chemical.

Read the full class action lawsuit (PDF)

Jessica Alba’s and The Honest Company’s response to the lawsuit is below:

Seven years ago, when I was pregnant with my first daughter, I was frustrated by the lack of healthy and safe product options for me and my new family. In fact, prior to launching The Honest Company, I began lobbying Congress to require that ingredients used in everyday products are tested for safety prior to entry into the marketplace.

I started The Honest Company to develop safe and effective products not just for my children, but for families everywhere. I am very proud that we have built this company into an industry leader focused on using natural ingredients and developing products that people love.

We believe that consumers deserve to know what’s in their products — whether it’s diapers for their children, cleaning products for their families or beauty products for themselves. Our formulations are made with integrity and strict standards of safety, and we label each ingredient that goes into every product – not because we have to, but because it’s the right thing to do.

The allegations against us are baseless and without merit. We strongly stand behind our products and the responsibility we have to our consumers. We are steadfast in our commitment to transparency and openness.

I know my children, Honor and Haven, are growing up in a safer home because of our products.

From Pret-A-Reporter

If the lawsuit is successful this may have an impact on how the “natural” label is used on cosmetic and personal care products.

The Honest Company is set to launch Honest Beauty this fall, a collection of 17 skin care products and 66 make up products.

Crayola Issues Warning Against Making DIY Lipsticks and Eyeliners with Its Products

KindofStephen

Here’s the FDA’s list of approved pigments for cosmetic use. They’re further limited by area of application, such as the eyes and lips.

Unlike cosmetics and personal care products, art supplies aren’t required to list their composition. Crayola crayons are made with paraffin wax, however we as consumers aren’t privy to which pigments are used to colour their products.

Here’s a discussion

of what industry trade group

Art & Creative Materials Institute’s

(ACMI) non-toxic label is and isn’t.

The [ACMI] also argues that while some institute-approved products may contain heavy metals, they are present in small enough quantities to be considered nontoxic. “If it’s not going to hurt you, then it can be labelled nontoxic,” said Laurie Doyle, associate director of the institute. “The [state health department] does have a difference of opinion on that.”

Do note that this information appears to be from the late 1980s, so their policy may have changed. Unfortunately, it has been difficult for me to find updated policies and discussion.

The latest I could find from the ACMI was them questioning whether there was enough data to label BPA as a reproductive toxicant.