Sunscreen Innovation Act Reaches President’s Desk

With passage of the Sunscreen Innovation Act (S. 2141) by the US House of Representatives, the bill is set to go to President Obama for his signature and enactment into law.  This important bill reforms the current sunscreen approval process of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by creating a timely and transparent process by which FDA will evaluate applications for new, safe and effective sunscreen ingredients, which are regulated as over-the-counter (OTC) drugs.


“As a member of the Public Access to Sun Screens (PASS) Coalition, BASF highly welcomes the Sunscreen Innovation Act. Passage of the bill represents a significant step towards ensuring the timely review of new sun protection ingredients by the FDA, that will ultimately provide US consumers with a wider array of safe and effective sunscreen products,” said Dirk Buengel, senior vice president, care chemicals for BASF in North America.


If signed into law by President Obama, the Sunscreen Innovation Act will help provide Americans access to the latest sunscreen ingredients, some of which have been widely available for 15 years in Europe, Asia and Latin America. These ingredients include BASF UV filters from the Tinosorb and Uvinul lines.


Tinosorb M is a BASF sunscreen active ingredient which provides exceptional UVA and UVB coverage. Tinosorb M combines the properties of both organic and inorganic sunscreen filters. It has high UV absorption like a soluble organic sunscreen active and the insolubility, low penetration and light scattering properties of an inorganic sunscreen active.


Tinosorb S is a highly efficient broad spectrum UV absorber. Due to its high efficiency, a reduced amount is needed to achieve UV protection allowing the ability to produce products which are cost effective and aesthetically superior. Uvinul T 150 UV filter provides extremely strong absorbance in the UVB spectrum for highly effective protection from sunburn.  Chemists and formulators can use less of this active ingredient due to powerful synergies with other UV filters.