It's official—the Sunscreen Innovation Act has become a law. On Nov. 29, 2014, President Barack Obama signed the bipartisan Sunscreen Innovation Act into law, paving the way for more sunscreen actives on the U.S. sun care market.
As previously mentioned, this law requires the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to clear the backlog of sunscreen filters. The last UV filter approved by the FDA was in 1990. There has been eight TEA applications for UV filters awaiting FDA approval since 2002.
The new law will force the FDA to make decisions on the filters within a reasonable time frame, some within six months. New ingredients added since the law is enacted must be responded to within a year.
With the approval of these ingredients, U.S. sun care manufacturers will have more options when formulating, potentially leading to better sun protection.