Who Makes Pavise? Sophie Bai, Bob Langer and the MIT Science Behind the Sunscreen

Expertly Written By

Dr. Rocco Piazza, MD, FACS

Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon practicing in Austin, Texas, and the physician who selects every product on our skincare shelf.

When patients pick up a bottle of Pavise at our front desk, the first question is usually the price. The second, more and more, is "who is behind this?" They have seen the words MIT, Moderna and Jay-Z attached to it somewhere online, and they want to know how much of that is real.

Most of it is. Some of it gets stretched in the retelling. Here is the verified version, with sources, followed by the more useful question: why we decided to stock it.

Who Makes Pavise?

Pavise is made by B.A.I. Biosciences, a Cambridge, Massachusetts biotech company founded by Sophie Bai, an MIT-trained chemical and biomedical engineer. Bob Langer, the MIT Institute Professor who co-founded Moderna, chairs the company's scientific advisory board. Pavise launched in March 2023 as the company's first consumer brand. (B.A.I. Biosciences) (Beauty Independent)

Sophie Bai: The Founder

Bai grew up in China and, by her own account, was entering science competitions from about age seven as a way to get better opportunities. (Highsnobiety) She also grew up with eczema and cystic acne, and has said she was pulled from a public-speaking contest at 11 because of how her skin looked. (W Magazine)

She studied chemical engineering with a biomedical focus at MIT, where she worked on drug delivery using nanotechnology — projects aimed at prostate cancer, lung cancer and type 1 diabetes — in Bob Langer's orbit. (Beauty Independent) According to the company, a minor planet (No. 25045) is named after her. (B.A.I. Biosciences)

She then left the lab for a stretch, working as a consultant at Boston Consulting Group and a vice president at Bain Capital, before an MBA at Harvard Business School and founding B.A.I. (Beauty Independent) The company was supported early by Harvard's Blavatnik Fellowship, The Engine (MIT's venture platform) and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center. (B.A.I. Biosciences)

Her stated thesis is in one line she gave Beauty Independent: "Ultimately, Pavise is not a sunscreen brand, it's a photoaging brand."

Bob Langer: What His Role Actually Is

Robert Langer is one of 12 Institute Professors at MIT, a co-founder of Moderna, and is often described as the most cited engineer in history. His awards include the US National Medal of Science and the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering. (Wikipedia summary of public record)

At B.A.I. Biosciences he is chair of the scientific advisory board. (Beauty Independent) Bai has said she has learned from him since she was 18. The board also includes Dr. Barbara Gilchrest, a dermatologist known for her work on skin aging, along with Dr. Haifan Lin and Dr. Alok Tewari. (B.A.I. Biosciences)

To be precise about it: Langer advises the company. He is not the founder and did not formulate the sunscreen. "Moderna co-founder skincare" is a fair shorthand for who advises Pavise, not for who invented it.

Who Invested (and What Jay-Z Has to Do With It)

B.A.I. Biosciences had raised $8.2 million by 2023. The backers named in its launch materials include Marcy Venture Partners — the venture firm co-founded by Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Jay Brown and Larry Marcus — and Brent Saunders, the former chairman and CEO of Allergan. (Beauty Independent) (TechCrunch)

So the "Jay-Z skincare" headlines trace back to his venture firm's investment. Saunders is the more telling name for anyone in aesthetics: he ran the company behind Botox, and he knows the physician channel well.

The Science: What Is in the Bottle vs. What Is in the Lab

This is where the coverage gets blurry, so it is worth separating clearly.

In the bottle today: DiamondCore zinc oxide. B.A.I. began as a transdermal drug-delivery company. After the FDA's 2019 proposal named zinc oxide and titanium dioxide as the only two filters it was ready to call safe and effective, the company turned to improving mineral filters. (FDA) The result is DiamondCore, which Pavise describes as a nanodiamond core paired with zinc oxide, with uniform particle size and shape so it applies clear. Pavise also claims it protects against high-energy visible light. Those are the company's claims; we explain the technology in more depth in DiamondCore explained.

Still in the lab: macro UV filters. In 2023 Bai told Beauty Independent that B.A.I. was working on four new classes of "macro" UV filters — molecules large enough that they are not meant to penetrate skin — and that lab studies had reached SPF 1,000 with very high UVA protection. Those filters are not on the market and are not in any Pavise product we sell. (Beauty Independent)

None of this makes chemical sunscreens a bad choice. The FDA asked for more data on 12 filters; it did not conclude they are unsafe. We cover that in is sunscreen absorbed into your bloodstream?

Reel: Dr. Rocco Piazza (@roccopiazzamd) on what Pavise adds to daily SPF.

Why Our Practice Stocks It

The founders and the funding got Pavise a meeting. They did not get it on our shelf. What did was a test on our own team.

Kari, our medical aesthetician, used the full line daily for three months through an Austin summer: Gentle Amino Powerwash, Bioadaptive Stress Repair, Dynamic Age Defense SPF 30 and Precision Eye Lift. Her cheek pigmentation dropped noticeably, she had no rosacea flares, her tone evened out and fine lines softened. She was also having HALO, neurotoxin and exosome serums in the same period, so this is one person on a full routine, not a clinical trial. The full write-up is in we tested Pavise on our own team.

"I don't stock a line because of who invested in it. I stock it when the science is serious, the claims are stated carefully, and my own team keeps using it when nobody is asking them to. Pavise met that bar." — Dr. Rocco Piazza, MD, FACS

The Pavise Products We Carry

Prices as listed on our shop. Product descriptions and data are Pavise's own.

Reel: Dr. Rocco Piazza (@roccopiazzamd) on why a simpler routine can be the better one.

The Kits

Most patients start with a kit. The 3-Step Essential Kit is Powerwash, Bioadaptive Stress Repair and the SPF. The 4-Step Essential Kit adds Precision Eye Lift.

Individual results vary. The products discussed are cosmetic and over-the-counter products and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Manufacturer claims are attributed to the manufacturer. Company and investor details are drawn from the linked public sources. This article is for educational purposes and does not constitute medical advice; speak with a qualified physician about what is appropriate for your skin. The Piazza Center sells Pavise products.