The Future of Safe Sunscreens: Assessment Without Animal Testing

Historically, sunscreen assessment has been complicated by diverse and even conflicting data requirements among regulatory authorities. In many countries, product developers are mandated to avoid animal testing whenever possible while other countries continue to require it.

As an example, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), categorizes sunscreens as over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, not cosmetics. This means sunscreens sold in the US are subject to the same testing requirements as OTC pharmaceuticals which severely limits access to the UV-filter innovation found internationally.  However, with passage of the 2025 SAFE Sunscreens Act, the US Congress has directed the FDA to modernize sunscreen assessment, a move which aligns perfectly with FDA-wide efforts to replace animal testing with new approach methods (NAMs).

This webinar series, presented in partnership with the International Collaboration on Cosmetics Safety (ICCS), aims to identify practical solutions for UV-filter development and testing that improve predictivity while providing animal-free assessments of sunscreens. In the first session, experts will discuss the Global Perspectives on Sunscreen Regulation, covering unique experiences of implementing NAMs across Europe, the United States and Brazil. The second session will focus on Modern Safety Assessments for UV Filters, highlighting Next Generation Risk Assessment (NGRA) principles, systemic toxicity, carcinogenicity, developmental toxicity, and Read-Across approaches for sunscreens. The third session will tie everything together with a discussion of Policy and the Regulatory Path Forward for Sunscreen Safety.

Abstracts, learning objectives, speaker bios, and more details will continue to be added as information is confirmed and finalized. Following each session, recordings and resources will be posted to www.pcrm.org/SunscreenResources. Check back often for updates!

Tuesday, July 14, 2026

SESSION 1 RECORDING

FEATURING:

Sunscreen Regulation in a Global Context: Challenges and Opportunities in the US

Kimberly Norman, PhD, DABT, ERT, Personal Care Products Council

• Summarize the global sunscreen regulatory landscape, identifying areas of convergence and divergence across international markets
• Analyze the unique challenges within the U.S. regulatory system, including data requirements for GRASE determinations and barriers to market entry for new UV filters
• Explore opportunities to modernize U.S. sunscreen regulation, with a focus on advancing science-based, efficient, and globally aligned approaches to safety assessment and innovation

European Union UV Filter Safety Regulations: Raising the bar and setting the pace for the rest of the world

J Nash, MS, PhD, Procter & Gamble

• Finished products containing UV filters are cosmetics and subject to animal-testing bans
• Safety of UV filters is assessed by independent experts at the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS), according to their Notes of Guidance
• Efficacy and safety testing follow international standards

Human-based Approaches for Assessment of UV Filters

Warren Casey, PhD, DABT, Office of Research Innovation, Validation, and Application (ORIVA), US National Institutes of Health (NIH)

• US National Institutes of Health will discuss efforts to address the endpoints relevant to FDA concerns

Transitioning to NAMs for Sunscreens in Brazil

Damaris Cristine Marios Dos Santos, MS; Grupo Boticário

• Brazilian regulatory landscape regarding the acceptance and integration of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) for environmental assessments in the cosmetics sector.
• Application of NAMs in environmental hazard and risk assessments from a cosmetic perspective - case study.
• Emerging environmental concerns, "coral-safe" claims, and how NAMs can be applied.

Discussion and Q&A

Dave Allen, PhD (moderator), International Collaboration on Cosmetics Safety

Eryn Slankster-Schmierer, MSc, PhD (moderator), Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

Shagun Krishna, PhD (moderator), Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

SESSION 1 RECORDING

Thursday, August 13, 2026
10:00 am – 12:15 pm ET / 14:00–16:15 UTC

REGISTER FOR SESSION 2

FEATURING:

Principles of Next-Generation Risk Assessment (NGRA) for Sunscreens

Matthew Dent, PhD, Unilever

• Exposure-led, hypothesis-driven, and NAM-based risk assessment tailored for UV filters

Systemic Toxicity Case Study

Matthew Dent, PhD, Unilever

• Benzophenone-4 (Baltazar 2025)

Screening for Carcinogenicity of Sunscreen Chemicals: A New Approach

Samuel M. Cohen, MD, PhD, University of Nebraska Medical Center

• (Cohen 2025)
• Provide a basis for screening for potential carcinogenicity in humans
• Illustrate a method for screening for carcinogenicity in humans based on mode of action, involving genotoxicity, immunosuppression, estrogenic activity, and cytotoxicity with regeneration.

DART NAMs Screening: Establishing a Scientific Roadmap for UV Filter Assessment

Matthew Burbank, PhD, L’Oreal

• (Burbank 2025)

Personal Care Products Council Case Study

Kimberly Norman, PhD, DABT, ERT, Personal Care Products Council (PCPC)

• Avobenzone (Norman et al. 2025)
• Octocrylene (Norman et al. 2026)

Applying NAM-Enhanced Read-Across Using a UV Filter as a Case Study

Catherine Mahony, Procter & Gamble

• Applying read-across elements

Discussion and Q&A

Dave Allen, PhD, or Donna Macmillan, PhD, (moderator) International Collaboration on Cosmetics Safety

Eryn Slankster-Schmierer, MSc, PhD (moderator), Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

REGISTER FOR SESSION 2

Date TBD (Registration will open once the date is finalized.)
10:00 am – 11:30 am ET / 14:00–15:30 UTC

FEATURING:

Summary

Presented by ICCS

• Key takeaways from Sessions 1 & 2
• About the ICCS Sunscreens Working Group and its current activities

Policy and the Regulatory Path Forward

Emily Anderson, MS, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

• How the SAFE Sunscreens Standards Act could open the door for NAMs in FDA sunscreen decisions
• The FDA ISTAND program as a pathway to qualify NAMs for sunscreen safety assessments
• What the US and EU can learn from each other: Bridging OTC drug versus cosmetic frameworks

Panel Discussion on the Path Forward

Dave Allen, PhD, or Donna Macmillan, PhD, (moderator), International Collaboration on Cosmetics Safety

Eryn Slankster-Schmierer, MSc, PhD (moderator), Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

Speakers from each session will join a 45-minute, moderated discussion panel.

Special Thanks to the Steering Committee and those who helped develop the agendas for this series.

Dave Allen, PhD, International Collaboration on Cosmetics Safety
Donna Macmillan, PhD, International Collaboration on Cosmetics Safety
Emily Anderson, MS, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
Eryn Slankster-Schmierer, MS, PhD, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
Gavin Maxwell, PhD, Unilever
J Nash, MS, PhD, Proctor & Gamble
Jon McCord, PhD, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
Kimberly Norman, PhD, DABT, ERT, Personal Care Products Council
Kristie Sullivan, MPH, Institute for In Vitro Sciences
Matthew Dent, PhD, Unilever
Shagun Krishna, PhD, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

Find recordings and select resources from this series at www.pcrm.org/SunscreenResources.

NURA Homepage