A new study plan posted on 9 November 2026 sets out to test whether daily collagen supplements, combined with a compound called MSM, can lower a kind of sugar-linked damage that builds up in skin as people age1. The trial has not started recruiting yet, so there are no results1. What exists so far is a detailed description of who will take part, what they will take and what will be measured.
What happened
The study was entered on ClinicalTrials.gov, the public US registry where researchers list trials before they run them. Its record, numbered NCT07925437, was first posted on 9 November 20261. It is called Part B of a larger study named TO-COSKIN4, and its sponsor is listed as VIST - Faculty of Applied Sciences1.
The trial will look at advanced glycation end products, usually shortened to AGEs. The registry describes them as compounds that form when sugars bind to proteins such as collagen, and says they accumulate in the skin with age1. Collagen is one of the main building blocks of skin.
Participants will take one of two test supplements or a placebo (a dummy supplement) every day for 16 weeks1. Both test products contain collagen, methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) and vitamin C1. The two versions are listed only by codes, CPMSM-HD and CPMSM-LD, and the records do not explain in plain terms how they differ1.
How the trial will work
Part B is a “nested” study. That means it adds a new measurement to people already taking part in a bigger trial, rather than recruiting a separate group1. It uses the same participants, the same random assignment to groups and the same clinic visits as the main study1. The registry estimates 90 people will take part1.
The main study, registered earlier as NCT07345195, was first posted on 15 January 20262. Its full title describes it as double blind, placebo-controlled and randomised, comparing three groups2. In plain terms: people are assigned to a group by chance, and neither they nor the researchers know who is getting which product until the end. That design is meant to stop expectations from shaping the results.
The main study is aimed at a specific group: healthy women aged 40 to 65 with visible facial redness and small visible blood vessels on the cheeks, stable for at least three months, and without active rosacea2. Its main goal is to see whether the supplements reduce facial redness after 16 weeks2. Part B uses these same women to ask a different question, about sugar-linked damage1.
The sugar-linked damage will be measured with a reading called skin autofluorescence, taken on the forearm1. The registry describes this as a non-invasive measurement, meaning no needles, cuts or skin samples1. The main outcome is the change in that reading from the start to week 16; the researchers will also check it at week 81.
What it does not show yet
A registry entry is a plan, not a finding. Nobody has taken the supplements in this trial yet, and the record lists no results1. It cannot say whether collagen, MSM or vitamin C change sugar-linked damage in skin, or whether they do anything to skin at all.
Several limits are built into the design, as described in the records:
- A narrow group. Everyone in the trial will be a woman aged 40 to 65 with facial redness2. Results may not apply to men, older or younger people, or people without that redness.
- A combination product. Each test supplement contains collagen, MSM and vitamin C together1. If a difference shows up, the trial on its own may not be able to say which ingredient caused it.
- A measurement on the arm. The main reading is taken on the forearm1. A change there would not automatically mean visible changes to facial skin, wrinkles or appearance.
- A lab reading, not a feeling or look. The main outcome is a number from a skin measurement1. Whether any change matters for how skin ages over years is a separate question the trial is not set up to answer.
There is also a small timing gap between the records. The main study lists a start date of 16 November 2026 and expects to finish collecting its main measurement by 30 June 20272. The Part B record lists a start in November 2026 and main data collection by May 20271. These dates are estimates and can change.
Who is behind it
Both the main study and Part B list the same sponsor, VIST - Faculty of Applied Sciences12. The registry records available to Biohack do not name the company that makes the test supplements, nor do they describe who pays for the study beyond the sponsor. The main study says it will also explore differences between the two test formulas2, which suggests an interest in comparing the two versions as well as each against the dummy.
How it fits the field
Collagen supplements are widely sold for skin, and several earlier trials have tested them. Most measured things like moisture, firmness and wrinkles rather than sugar-linked damage.
One example is a 2018 trial published in the journal Nutrients. It gave 64 women aged 40 to 60 with sun-damaged skin either a fish-derived collagen product or a placebo daily for 12 weeks3. A summary of that study, written by a naturopathic physician for the site Natural Health Research, reported that the collagen group had better skin hydration, wrinkle scores and elasticity than the placebo group at 12 weeks3. The placebo group also showed an increase in hydration by week 123.
Another trial, run at two sites in Shanghai and completed in 2023, assigned 70 women aged 30 to 50 to a collagen drink or a drink without collagen for two months4. Its main measures were skin moisture and elasticity4. It was sponsored by Shenzhen Precision Health Food Technology Co. Ltd.4. The registry summary available to Biohack does not include its results.
Other research has looked at creams rather than pills. A small pilot study had 53 women, with an average age of 62.1, apply a serum containing peptides and a mushroom extract twice a day for 12 weeks5. The authors reported less visible fine lines and wrinkles and a 2.4% increase in collagen density, but the study had no comparison group described in its summary5.
Interest in this area is driven partly by money. A 2025 review of protein- and peptide-based skincare cited a projection that the global anti-aging skincare market will reach $421.4 billion by 20306.
What sets the new trial apart is its target. The earlier studies described here focused on how skin looks and feels345. This one asks about a chemical process in the skin itself: sugars sticking to proteins over time1.
What to watch next
- Recruitment. Both records currently say the study is not yet recruiting12. A status change to recruiting would be the first sign it has begun.
- Main study results. The facial redness findings from the main study are expected to be collected by mid-20272.
- Part B results. The forearm readings of sugar-linked damage are expected by around May 20271. Whether they are posted to the registry or published in a peer-reviewed journal will matter for how much weight they can bear.
- Who makes the products. Any later publication should say who made the supplements and who funded the work.
Until then, the trial is a question, not an answer.
