Evonik has agreed to buy innovativeHealth Group, a Spanish company focused on developing novel skin care products for treating dermatological diseases. The transaction is due to complete before the end of March; financial terms have not been disclosed.

InnoHealth, which is based at the Scientific Park of Madrid, will become part of Evonik’s Care Solutions business line. The German group said the acquisition increases its ability to develop unique and tailor-made active ingredients while also accelerating time to market.

Tammo Boinowitz, senior vice president and general manager at Evonik’s Care Solutions Business Line, said the company wanted to enlarge its lab capabilities and enhance its screening abilities in order to select new products with proven efficacy, noting that this is a core strength of innoHealth.

In addition to the screening platform, the Spanish company has developed a tool to combine active ingredients showing synergistic effects. The Ingredient Combinatorial System platform identifies synergistic activities between individual ingredients to develop novel dermocosmetic products that offer superior activity for specific applications. The artificial intelligence system implements an algorithm that is capable of calculating optimized ingredient blends for different applications.

Evonik said it can use this platform for its product development and as a selection tool for its customers. In addition, it can offer customized active ingredients that meet specific market trends and consumer needs.

Boinowitz commented: “With this latest acquisition we have strengthened our innovative power in the area of cosmetic active ingredients. We will now be able to optimize the costs and development time, as well as achieve high quality and high performance products that show attractive and scientifically proven properties.”

This acquisition is the third so far this year for Evonik. On Feb. 4, it closed the purchase of Peroxychem, a manufacturer of hydrogen peroxide and peractic acid, after a Washington DC court dismissed a lawsuit by the Federal Trade Commission seeking to block the acquisition.

In January, the German specialty chemicals company agreed to buy Wilshire Technologies, a US-based supplier of phytochemicals and derivatives to the global cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.