Byeong Deog Park, also known as Raymond Park, is a South Korean chemical engineer, researcher, and entrepreneur whose work has focused on skin-barrier lipids, synthetic pseudoceramides, multilamellar emulsions, and sphingolipid signaling. He founded NeoPharm in 2000 and served as its chief executive until 2016. His subsequent research expanded into the biological relationships between skin and brain conditions and the role of the epidermal endocannabinoid system in regulating skin-lipid metabolism. His research and business activities have been associated with NeoPharm, SphingoBrain, and Dr. Raymond Lab.
Park studied chemical technology at Seoul National University, where he earned bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees. His graduate research examined organic reactions in micellar systems and polymer-supported chemistry. He completed his doctorate in 1994 and subsequently worked as a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Chemistry at Rutgers University from 1994 to 1995. Following his postdoctoral research, he joined the central research center of Aekyung Industrial in South Korea, where his work increasingly focused on synthetic pseudoceramides and skin-barrier formulations.
In 1996, Park was named as an inventor on a patent titled “Pseudoceramides, and dermatologic external preparations containing the same,” assigned originally to Aekyung Industrial. The patent concerned synthetic compounds and dermatological preparations designed to replicate aspects of the skin’s natural lipid structure. His research at Aekyung subsequently provided the foundation for his entrepreneurial activities in skincare technology.
In 2000, Park and other researchers from Aekyung’s central research institute founded NeoPharm as a venture based on their research and development work. As the company’s chief executive, he led its efforts to commercialize skin-barrier technologies while continuing to participate in scientific research. The company’s early development involved challenges related to product distribution, investment in research and development, and business expansion. A feature published by Kyunghyang Shinmun described how Park’s interest in skincare research was influenced by efforts to address his son’s atopic dermatitis. Other Korean media reports discussed NeoPharm’s development and preparations for a stock-market listing. The company was listed on the KOSDAQ in January 2007.
During his tenure at NeoPharm, Park continued investigating pseudoceramides and multilamellar emulsions, which contain multiple layers of lipid structures. These formulations were studied for their ability to reproduce aspects of the skin’s natural lipid organization and support the epidermal barrier. In 2003, he was the first author of a study published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology examining the molecular organization of multilamellar emulsions containing pseudoceramide and a type III synthetic ceramide. The researchers used differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, and electron microscopy to characterize the formulations.
In 2006, Park co-authored a study in The Journal of Dermatology investigating the effects of a multilamellar emulsion on glucocorticoid-induced epidermal atrophy and skin-barrier impairment. His research also extended to cellular signaling and epidermal differentiation. In 2008, he co-authored a study in the same journal examining K6PC-5, a direct activator of sphingosine kinase 1, and its role in promoting epidermal differentiation through intracellular calcium signaling.
Park’s formulation research received attention in skincare and dermatology publications. A 2014 Dermatology News profile discussing skincare formulators included commentary from dermatologist Leslie Baumann on his work involving ceramides, inflammatory signaling, and multilamellar emulsion technology. A feature in Professional Beauty Australia also discussed his research in connection with ceramides, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPAR-α), Defensamide, and multilamellar emulsions. Park remained NeoPharm’s chief executive until March 2016, when he resigned as representative director during a management change.
After leaving NeoPharm, Park founded SphingoBrain Inc. in 2017. Research associated with the organization investigated possible biological relationships between dermatological and neurological conditions, particularly the reported clinical association between atopic dermatitis and autism spectrum disorder. This research examined whether certain inflammatory and lipid-related changes might occur in both skin and brain tissue.
The study “Phenotypic overlap between atopic dermatitis and autism” was published in BMC Neuroscience in June 2021. Park’s listed affiliations included SphingoBrain Inc. in San Francisco, California, and Dr. Raymond Laboratories Inc. in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Using a valproic-acid mouse model, the researchers investigated structural, inflammatory, and sphingolipid changes in skin and brain tissue. They reported overlapping changes in ceramide composition and inflammatory markers under the experimental conditions studied. The findings provided a basis for further investigation into shared biological pathways, but did not establish a causal relationship between atopic dermatitis and autism in humans.
Park’s subsequent research included investigations of the epidermal endocannabinoid system, a signaling network involved in several physiological processes in the skin. In 2019, he co-authored a review published in Cosmetics examining the epidermal endocannabinoid system and potential skincare applications of endocannabinomimetic compounds. The review discussed N-palmitoyl serinol, a synthetic compound investigated for its potential effects on skin-related biological processes, including observations involving a formulation containing the compound.
In 2021, Park co-authored a study published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences examining the effects of N-palmitoyl serinol on epidermal ceramide production. The researchers reported that the compound stimulated ceramide production in an in-vitro inflammatory model through a mechanism involving the cannabinoid receptor CB1. The findings extended his earlier work on skin-barrier lipids into receptor-mediated signaling and lipid metabolism, although the experimental results did not by themselves establish clinical effectiveness in humans.
The South Korean company now known as Dr. Raymond Lab Inc. was originally established as La Stella Co., Ltd. A Korean patent application filed in 2020 identified La Stella as the applicant and Park as one of the inventors. In 2021, the company became known as Dr. Raymond Lab Inc., and Park assumed the role of chief executive officer on February 1 of that year. The Korean company is a separate entity from Dr. Raymond Laboratories Inc., the U.S. corporation listed in the BMC Neuroscience paper.
Throughout his career, Park has been named as an inventor or co-inventor on patents relating to pseudoceramides, multilamellar formulations, sphingolipid-related compounds, and other skin-related technologies. His scientific publications have addressed the structure of skin-barrier formulations, epidermal differentiation, inflammatory signaling, and the potential roles of lipid-related compounds in skin biology.
Park’s career has combined chemical engineering, industrial research and development, scientific publishing, and entrepreneurship. His early work focused on synthetic skin-barrier lipids and their application in dermatological formulations, while his later research explored sphingolipid signaling and the epidermal endocannabinoid system. Through his work with NeoPharm, SphingoBrain, and Dr. Raymond Lab, he has pursued research connecting skin-barrier science with broader questions in cellular biology and lipid metabolism.
