Our Invention

Patent-Pending CurlRelax

Apex uni-sourced emulsion is described as “product-by-process” invention, wherein both the final product CurlRelax and its process of manufacturing are described; examined; allowed; and protected for the intended use.

The Old vs. the New:
Multi-sourced vs. Uni-sourced Emulsions

What is O/W Emulsion

Why O/W Emulsion

An emulsion is a mixture of oil and water (O/W) that under specific transforming processes the oil will adopt a microscopic homogenous transparent structure dispersed in the water.

O/W micro- or nano-emulsions are structured from an oil phase incorporating the bioactive ingredients dispersed in a water phase in which emulsifiers are dissolved, and an interface composed of phospholipid molecules assembled to separate the oil from water and prevent coalescence.

Emulsion is a multicomponent complex system , searching for the suitable multi-sourced ingredients to dissolve the bioactives is tedious mix-and-match process resulting in numerous options. The resultant emulsion is usually unstable.

Currently, the formulation use commercially available herbal oils extracted by heat or CO2, leaving behind residue rich in bioactives. This will limit their beneficial outcomes.

Emulsions are used as a carrier system that protect and deliver herbal biologically active ingredients (bioactives) to the targeted site of action inside the body to improve their performance. O/W are used in cosmetics, oral nutrition and health care.

Herbs contain bioactives with beneficial function in cosmetics, cosmeceuticals, and nutrition. Most bioactives are sensitive to heat, light, and oxgen. The function of the emulsion is to protect theses sensitive bioactives and prolong the product shelf life.

Emulsions deliver the bioactives to the site of action because it is soluble in water and hence stay in the circulation for longer time.

Emulsions get the bioactive isolated from the surrounding environment, therefore inhibit unfavorable chemical reaction during digestion and protect the bioactives.

Volatile oils are mostly unpalatable, when emulsified they improve their taste and smell

Apex Novel Uni-sourced Emulsification Process

How We Advance the Emulsification Technique

Initially, we select one herb as a sole source of the desired bioactives, phospholipid surfactant, co-surfactants and other components required for our product function and stability.

The major advantages is natural component compatibility; when derived from one herb components are 100% compatible and in delicate balance to performing spontaneous assembly.

The interface components are an exact mix in relation to quantity, ratio to each other, electrical charges, and the interaction between them are naturally set for optimum performance.

This is demonstrated in the following video

The Magic Behind CurlRelax
Science-Backed Formula

The claim of relaxing curly hair from the roots is unprecedented!

It needs a scientific explanation to support it

Protecting “perishable” Ingredients

Ingredients Compound Effect

When herbal seed per se, or the oil extracted from the said herb are ingested some components are digested and inactivated, and its function is lost.

The incorporation of the bioactives in the heart of the emulsion particle will carry and protect them and deliver the bioactives to the site of action.

Apex process is oil-friendly, use neither harmful external physical energy by heating or ultrasonication to extract the oil from the herb, nor mechanical forces to disrupt the oil phase into tiny droplets. It extract the oil in tiny droplets from inside each cell by digesting the cell wall cellulose.

The compound effect means that, when selected ingredients are added to each other, their functional performance is more than the sum of the function of each one by itself.

The advantage is that the dose required for a specific functional outcome is lower than when each single ingredient is used alone.

CurlRelax Gel Caps Product

First-in-class Product for oral route of administration

Apex development candidate CurlRelax is the uni-sourced emulsion prepared by the above-described process. It is a liquid that can be filled in gelatin capsules in a precise dose to be ingested and act from within.

CurlRelaxTM will be manufactured and marketed as an over-the-counter (OTC) product.

In the USA, OTC products with a claim benefit are regulated under the Under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

CurlRelax
Over-the-Counter Softgel Capsules

Milestones Achieved in Our Intellectual Journey:

Going to the Market with a Patent-Pending Product

The patent application has been filed at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO);
The patent application was then filed as a PCT within the USPTO;
The International Searching Authority (PCT) at the USPTO and the “International Search Report and Written Opinion” concluded that our invention claims are novel, inventive, and industrially applicable., and we are very close to patent grant.
The patent examination report substantiate our claims
The patent application entered the “National Phase” in multiple countries.

Over-the-Counter Product

Manufacturing and Marketing our OTC product CurlRelax

To simplifies the OTC concept, let us start with an example: the anti dandruff shampoo that claims to ”treat” dandruff.
OTC are considered as a non-prescription medicines that have deemed to be safe for a consumer to self-administer for self-diagnosed ailment without the advice of a healthcare provider.

OTCs are considered as a “non-prescription drug” because it claims too “treat” an ailment.
The ingredients should be recognized as safe (GRAS).
Manufactured in a facility compliant with good manufacturing practice (GMPs).
Meets the OTC labelling requirements.
Preferably to know how it works (mechanism of action).

For a pharma startups the trend is to use the services of contract research organization (CRO) and contract manufacturing organization (CMO).