The National Toxicology Program identified “equivocal evidence of carcinogenic activity” in rats exposed to 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone (HMB), or oxybenzone, according to a draft reportreleased in October.
National Toxicology Program: Oxybenzone Shows ‘Equivocal Evidence Of Carcinogenic Activity’
A National Toxicology Program rat study linking oxybenzone to “equivocal evidence of carcinogenic activity” is far from damning, but it's a reminder of just how steep a mountain industry may have to climb to maintain the UV filter’s generally recognized as safe and effective (GRASE) status for OTC marketability, currently under FDA review.

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Some FDA employees who were recently laid off by the Trump Administration are being called back to work, multiple sources confirmed to the Pink Sheet.
Proposed administrative order likely is first to prompt opposition from OTC industry or other stakeholders potentially delaying or deferring the agency’s expectation for moving its proposal to a deemed final order effective one year after it would be published.
Qnovia notes NRT inhalation product recently received investigational new drug clearance from FDA as agency and NIH say innovation needed smoking cessation to help improve rate of success for quitting the habit that kills around 500,000 US consumers annually.
The Washington State Department of Ecology will try to work with companies that violate the Toxic Free Cosmetics Act, rather than reflexively imposing the $5,000-per-violation fine for first-time offenders, says the law’s implementation planner. She noted financial assistance is available for small businesses, as well as incentives for companies adopting measures “beyond compliance.”
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The Washington State Department of Ecology will try to work with companies that violate the Toxic Free Cosmetics Act, rather than reflexively imposing the $5,000-per-violation fine for first-time offenders, says the law’s implementation planner. She noted financial assistance is available for small businesses, as well as incentives for companies adopting measures “beyond compliance.”
US FDA Office of New Drugs Director Peter Stein says review divisions have made the case that a discussion-only meeting would solicit the necessary input.
Requests for “enforcement actions are not within the scope of FDA’s citizen petition procedures,” CDER says, rejecting petition dosing device firm Parenteral Technologies submitted as it prepares for workshop on Pediatric Research Equity Act requirements for OTC NDA sponsors.