South Korean biotech bets on donated human fat product to fix ‘Ozempic face’

“Ozempic face” could spawn the next K-beauty craze. South Korean biotech L&C Bio plans to launch an injectable skin booster made from donated human fat to restore lost facial volume, betting demand for cosmetic fixes tied to blockbuster weight-loss drugs will drive its next phase of growth.

L&C – which pioneered the use of donated human tissue in K-beauty skin boosters – developed the technology about five years ago, CEO Lee Whan Chul said in an interview. The company holds patents on the technology in South Korea, the US and China.

South Korea has repeatedly turned niche cosmetic procedures into global beauty trends, from glass skin regimens to salmon sperm facials and L&C’s flagship human tissue treatment Re2O. The next wave may shift from improving skin quality to restoring facial and body volume, which L&C Bio’s new product is designed to support.

Unlike Re2O – which targets skin quality and wrinkles using donated skin tissue – the new treatment processes donated fat into an extracellular matrix that acts as a scaffold, allowing a patient’s own fat cells to repopulate treated areas and restore lost volume naturally.

Lee sees the product – tentatively called MegaAdipoECM – addressing the hollow cheeks and sagging skin known as “Ozempic face” in GLP-1 users, while also offering a biological alternative to silicone breast implants, whose long-term health risks include rupture.

Commercialisation stalled because South Korean law classified donated fat as medical waste, preventing companies from recycling it, but that changed this year after lawmakers legalised the practice. L&C expects to launch the product after a one-year grace period, likely in late 2027.