Key Takeaways:
- BEMT is finally legal in US sunscreens—but early access comes at a price.
- BASF found a way inside DSM-Firmenich’s 18-month exclusivity window.
- Ultra Violette, Neutrogena, and CeraVe are among BEMT’s first US movers.
After more than two decades of clinical research, paperwork, and red tape, the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of UV filter bemotrizinol (BEMT) went into effect this past Sunday, August 9. BEMT is the first sunscreen active to be approved by the FDA in more than 25 years.
As BeautyMatter previously reported, BEMT is nothing new. Although BEMT has been used in Europe, Asia, Australia, and Canada for more than 25 years, US brands can only now formulate with it due to the FDA’s clunky and lengthy monograph approval process for over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. But brands that want to bring sunscreens with BEMT to market during the next 18 months will have to pay the BEMT tax.
How BASF Got Skin in the Game
When the FDA approved BEMT for GRASE (Generally Recognized As Safe and Effective) status in June, DSM-Firmenich was granted 18-month marketing exclusivity because it was the global ingredient conglomerate’s application that got approved (read: they spent the years of research and millions of dollars). Until this week, DSM-Firmenich’s exclusivity effectively blocked other US manufacturers from selling BEMT. Now there is one notable exception: BASF.
BASF has secured co-exclusive US rights to market and sell BEMT, branded as Tinosorb S, under a supplemental license agreement with DSM Nutritional Products.
The two companies have a long history with BEMT. Ciba Specialty Chemicals, which BASF acquired in 2009, developed and...
