Umicore to manufacture product for Oxonica's photostable OPTISOLT UV Absorber

Oxford , UK ( 15 October, 2004 ) - Oxonica and Umicore have signed an exclusive supply agreement to enable the market development of OPTISOL UV Absorber - a new ingredient for use in skincare products. Oxonica will commercialise its OPTISOL™ and Umicore, with its unique expertise and know-how in high volume nanomaterial production, is appointed sole manufacturer of the constituent nano-sized titanium dioxide powder (TiO₂)

The signing of the supply agreement follows Oxonica’s commercial launch last month of its photostable UV absorber OPTISOL, based on titanium dioxide that displays enhanced UVA protection for skincare and materials applications.  

Feedback from the ‘in-cosmetics 2004’ exhibition in Milan for ingredient manufacturers supplying the cosmetics industry  highlighted the industry’s need for a technology capable of delivering enhanced, photostable UVA protection in both sunscreens and cosmetics to meet customer needs

Dr Kevin Matthews, Oxonica’s CEO, commented, “Oxonica is very pleased to be associated with Umicore, a strong industrial partner and is delighted to be able to announce the availability of OPTISOL in tonnage quantities”.

David Browning, Executive Vice President responsible for the commercialisation of the product, commented on the technology, “OPTISOL is a revolutionary new product providing UV protection as well as free radical reduction.  The technology, developed in association with the University of Oxford , works by absorbing ultra-violet radiation without the concurrent formation of free radicals; highly reactive chemical species which are implicated in skin ageing and cell damage.  Furthermore, OPTISOL provides an additional benefit by absorbing the free radicals which may be generated by other components present in a sunscreen formulation, thus further enhancing the formulation stability.  The product is particularly effective in improving UVA protection in a variety of formulations.”

Peter Rigby, Innovation and New Business Development Manager of Umicore said, “The collaboration between the two companies represents a unique combination of innovative application technology with Umicore’s world-class manufacturing capability to offer a ground-breaking improvement to the performance of sunscreens and cosmetics”.

The increase in the ratio of UVA to UVB absorption provided by OPTISOL addresses recent concerns over broad spectrum protection, which is quantified by the Boots Star System. OPTISOL has been demonstrated in formulations to achieve the highest performance level (five-star-ultra) and its unique technology acts to stabilise the formulation, including organic UVA and UVB absorbers, with a very high level of protection maintained during solar exposure.

OPTISOL has three distinct mechanisms that make its performance as a UVA protection agent stand out. These are:

§         More photostable when compared with organic UV barrier materials

§         Suppression of free radicals formed by the effect of UV on TiO₂

§         Scavenging of free radicals that may be generated by other associated formulation ingredients

Although typical sunscreen ingredients maintain UVB absorption over reasonable periods of exposure time (therefore users do not experience the physical manifestations of sunburn) UVA protection usually decreases as the traditional organic components photodegrade. OPTISOL being far more stable with respect to UVA, significantly reduces the rate of degradation and so considerably improves the protection stability of the formulation over the complete exposure time.

Oxonica is in discussion with major sunscreen manufacturers and it is anticipated that the first sunscreen products based on OPTISOL UV Absorber will be commercially available within 18 months.  The Company points out, that sunscreen products still need to be applied frequently to combat the effects of sweating and physical abrasion that causes their removal and that caution should be applied with regard to any exposure to the sun to prevent skin damage.

--ENDS--

CONTACTS:

Press contact for further information and photographs:

Fiona Brown or Sue Charles, Northbank Communications,

The Media Village , 131-151 Great Titchfield Street , London , WIW 5BB, UK

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7886 8150

E-mail: f.brown@northbankcommunications.com or s.charles@northbankcommunications.com

At the company:

Sonia Bouzid, PR Executive

Oxonica Ltd, 7 Begbroke Science Park, Sandy Lane , Yarnton, Kidlington, Oxfordshire , OX5 1PF , UK  

Tel: +44 (0) 1865 856 728

E-mail: sonia.bouzid@oxonica.com or pr@oxonica.com

NOTES TO EDITORS:

1.         Oxonica – www.oxonica.com

Oxonica Limited was found in 1999 and is based in Oxford , England . Currently employing 30 professional staff, the company operates in the exciting area of nanomaterials and is application focused with a portfolio of in-house developed new product opportunities. It also commercialises IPR researched over many years in The University of Oxford.

Key enabling areas include physics, materials science, chemistry and biochemistry. Oxonica currently offers commercial products in the fields of fuel catalysis and personal care and is developing a suite of products for applied diagnostics across and beyond the healthcare space. 

Oxonica's technology allows it to successfully design, manipulate and engineer certain properties of materials at the nano-scale. It has a portfolio of 38 patent families covering materials and applications of commercial significance.

Oxonica's intellectual property derives from a compelling combination of three key technology pillars: solid state physics, colloidal chemistry and coating technology. A large number of potential materials with differing functionalities and surface properties can be generated by Oxonica.

Lead products include:

Ø       Envirox™ Fuel Additive – A nanocatylst optimising fuel economy and reducing emissions

Ø       Optisol™ UV Absorber – A range of ultra-stable UVA absorbers with enhanced free radical scavenging, with immediate applications in sunscreens and other materials

Ø       Biodiagnostics – Ultrasensitive, high multiplex diagnostic tools with applications across and beyond the healthcare space

2.         Umicore – www.umicore.com

Umicore is an international metals and materials group.  Its activities are centred on five business areas:  Precious Metal Services, Precious Metal Products and Catalysts, Advanced Materials, Zinc and Copper.  Each business area is divided into market-focussed business units.

Umicore focuses on application areas where it knows its expertise in materials science, chemistry and metallurgy can make a real difference, be it in products that are essential to everyday life or those at the cutting edge of exciting, new technological developments.  Umicore’s overriding goal of sustainable value creation is based on this ambition to develop and recycle metals in a way that fulfils its mission: materials for a better life.

The Umicore Group has industrial operations on all continents and serves a global customer base; it generated a turnover of EUR 4.7 billion in 2003 and currently employs some 11,500 people.