BMJ  2006;332:929 (22 April), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7547.929

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Johns Hopkins scales down its deal with cosmetics firm after criticism

Baltimore

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The value of the name of Johns Hopkins, the 19th century Quaker philanthropist who endowed one of the great medical institutions of the United States, is at the centre of a public debate that is forcing US academic medicine to think hard about what happens when science meets branding.

In late February a New York cosmetics company, Klinger Advanced Aesthetics, announced the release of a line of products called "Cosmedicine." The 15 skin products, whose prices range from $28 (£16; 23) to $85, included hydrators, exfoliators, pore shrinkers, sun blockers, and shine suppressors.

The marketing pitch of the new products was that their biological performance was scientifically verified, unlike that of nearly all their competitors. The data appearing on Cosmedicine labels attesting to skin change after application of the creams and "serums" aren't the opinion of users; instead they are the results of tests performed by contract laboratories and overseen . . . [Full text of this article]

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In brief
BMJ 2006 333: 770. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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• Kemper, K. J., Vohra, S., Walls, R., the Task Force on Complementary and Alternative Me, , the Provisional Section on Complementary, Holistic, (2008). The Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Pediatrics. Pediatrics 122: 1374-1386 [Abstract] [Full text]  
• (2006). In brief. BMJ 333: 770-770 [Full text]  

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