SBIR-STTR Award

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is the development of sustainably produced, effective natural sunscreen compound found in marine organisms for skincare applications. The World Health Organization estimates that one in every three cancers diagnosed is a skin cancer. The prevalence of skin cancer, and the threat of photoaging, is driving growth in the global market for sun protection products, which is predicted to reach over $7 B by 2020. However, many chemical sunscreen ingredients on the market today have been shown to be harmful to the environment and/or to have adverse health effects. The goal is to produce a previously identified marine sunscreen compound, gadusol, in an economical and sustainable yeast biomanufacturing system, and replace problematic sunscreen ingredients in current use. This SBIR Phase I project proposes to develop a sustainable means of producing a natural, marine-based sunscreen ingredient for skincare applications. This project focuses on increasing yields and recovery of gadusol, a fish-derived UV-B-absorbing sunscreen, by using the tools of microbial fermentation and synthetic biology. The gadusol biosynthetic pathway was recently introduced into yeast. The key technical objectives of his project are to improve gadusol yields, evaluate yeast-produced gadusol use in skin care products, and develop methods for purification that will be applicable to large-scale production. The anticipated outcome of this project is a new and underutilized sunscreen compound derived from natural sources that has the potential to provide UV protection without the health and environmental risks associated with current commercial ingredients.

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is the development of a safe, effective, and sustainably-produced natural sunscreen compound, gadusol, to replace harmful ingredients widely used in current sunscreen products. Two to three million cases of skin cancer are reported globally each year, including 132,000 cases of melanoma. In 2015, the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention reported 80,442 new cases of melanomas of the skin in the U.S. The potential exists to reverse this trend with effective, safe, aesthetically-pleasing sun protection products that provided long-lasting full-spectrum UV protection. Sustainable production of gadusol and the assurance of its safety and efficacy will enable such products to be developed. With a global sunscreen product market of $16.5 billion and growing, along with the demonstrated need for natural, safer sunscreen actives, this project is poised to have a worldwide, long-term impact on national and global health.This SBIR Phase II project will demonstrate the feasibility of sustainably producing gadusol, a natural, marine-based compound with proven sun protection capability. Recent research has documented that widely used sunscreen ingredients pose hazards to the environment and possibly to human health, leading to bans on popular sunscreen products. Mineral active compounds such as ZnO and TiO2 are safer substitutes but pose aesthetic disadvantages, leading to products that many consumers dislike. Gadusol has the potential to replace some of these widely-used chemical actives as a safe, effective, and natural UVB blocker. The technical scope proposed includes overcoming obstacles to sustainable production of gadusol using the tools of synthetic biology, establishing gadusol's safety through standard pre-clinical tests, and assessing its efficacy and suitability in prototype formulations (SPF value). Successful completion of this project will reduce the risks of adopting gadusol as a new sunscreen ingredient, enable its commercial production, and provide essential safety data prior to initiating clinical testing required for FDA approval.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.