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Obama signs Sunscreen Innovation Act into law

President Barack Obama signed the Sunscreen Innovation Act into law on Nov. 29 to amend the backlog of over-the-counter sunscreen active ingredients awaiting U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval and provide an alternative process for safety and effectiveness review.

According to a summary from the 113th Congress, Public Law No. 113-195, requires “the Director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research to complete a review of a filed request and determine the safety and efficacy of the sunscreen active ingredient or combination of ingredients within 300 days for new requests or a shorter timeframe for requests pending before enactment of this Act.”

Additionally, the law allows any person to request that the Secretary of Health and Human Services determine whether an over-the-counter sunscreen active ingredient or combination of ingredients is safe and effective. In turn, the Secretary will be required to review any request regarding a sunscreen active ingredient or combination of ingredients that has been in use and that is not included in the stayed sunscreen monograph published by the FDA, according to the summary.

For additional information regarding what the law entails, view the summary on Congress.gov.