New U.S. sunscreen actives are potentially within reach, as the The Sunscreen Innovation Act (S. 2141) by passed the U.S. House of Representatives and will be sent to President Barack Obama for his signature and enactment into law.
This 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.
“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 U.S. consumers with a wider array of safe and effective sunscreen products,” said Dirk Buengel, senior VP of Care Chemicals in North America for BASF, one of the members of the PASS Coalition.
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.
