Skin Is In With Biomedical Investors

As recently as 10 years ago, there was a stark divide between medical dermatology and aesthetic dermatology, with a few gray areas in between. But experts say the field is changing. These days, the vast majority of dermatologists perform both kinds of procedures, in ratios determined by their own interests and their clientele. Like other kinds of medical doctors, dermatologists are increasingly migrating from private practices into group practices. These new structures have room for specialists, more common as dermatology residents are routinely trained in both disciplines. As the divide between medicine and aesthetics closes, new market opportunities are opening. New business models not applicable to any other field of medicine are emerging too.

Investors are waking up to the awareness that science can serve beauty as well as medicine, sometimes with just a...