As it celebrates its 40th anniversary, editor Tim Probert visits Silab’s 75,000 m2 headquarters near Brive-la-Gaillarde in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-central France. Here, he learns the secrets of Silab’s considerable success in cosmetic active ingredients
Silab has always been ahead of the curve. Established in 1984 in collaboration with the University of Limoges and the Limousin department government in France, Silab - Société Industrielle Limousine d'Applications Biologiques — was created to valorise products from the blood of cows and other bovine extracts.
A significant chunk of Silab's early business was selling bovine serum albumin, a powerful protein for cosmetic applications — specifically for its lifting and tensor effects — to major French cosmetics houses. It was also used for antibodies and in pharmaceuticals.
In the late 1980s, however, disaster struck. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, led cosmetics companies — and drugs manufacturers — to stop using products of bovine origin.
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