During tattooing, ink is injected into the skin. The ink initiates an immune response, and cells called "macrophages" move into the area and "eat up" the ink. The macrophages carry some of the ink to the body's lymph nodes. But some of those macrophages that are filled with ink stay put, embedded in the skin. That's what makes the tattoo visible under the skin.

Inkology works by targeting the macrophages that have remained at the site of the tattoo. New macrophages move in to consume the previously pigment-filled macrophages and then migrate to the lymph nodes, eventually taking all the dye with them.

There's no injection and no inflammation, and the tattoo just fades away.

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"When comparing it to laser-based tattoo removal, in which you see the burns, the scarring, the blisters, in this case, we've designed a drug that doesn't have much off-target effect,"

"We're not targeting any of the healthy skin cells so that you won't see a lot of inflammation. In fact, based on the process that we're using, we know there will be no inflammation at all, and it would be anti-inflammatory."