BIOCIDES pool of actives. These need to be suitable from a technical point of view but also regulatory-compliant for as long as possible( i. e. avoiding actives under regulatory scrutiny).
It is thus necessary to have all of the relevant details available at the shortest possible notice. Compliancerelated information is also relevant in order to convince investors and other stakeholders that the new innovations are more sustainable from both a product-marketing point of view( shortest time-to-market) as well as for ESG rating.
Downstream users of biocides can also benefit from this information. They can use such an analysis to future-proof their own production processes, prepare for regulatory change( e. g. new environmental classification impacting transport and storage requirements) and also to provide feedback to public consultations once an active substance in use is under scrutiny( see box).
Source of biocide wisdom
We wanted to make it quick and easy for people in product management, innovation and regulatory compliance to find less hazardous and hence more sustainable biocidal actives. Together we founded Rules4Biocides with the objective of reducing complexity in compliance, both for innovations and for products already on the market.
The company’ s Overview of Alternatives Query( OAQ) tool reduces time to market for biocide innovations and can be used for finding sustainable alternatives and evaluating investment options. It matches potential biocide options to a specific request and ranks the output based on regulatory and( eco) toxicological criteria.
In creating the OAQ, we‘ externalised’ Martijn’ s toxicological and biocidal expertise. And, based on Annemarie’ s regulatory compliance process experience, we coded this expert interpretation into algorithms. The system returns a ranked list compared to the input. So, if an alternative active is for instance more hazardous than the current one, this is shown clearly in the results.
Users simply input the product type, the biocidal active that they intend to replace, who the intended users are and what( micro) organism it should work against( e. g. fungi, viruses or mosquitoes). With the click of a button, the system returns a list of potential alternatives with helpful details about,
BPR compliance
Like many other regions, the EU only allows biocidal products to be marketed if strict regulatory preconditions are in place for a safe use by professionals and / or the general public. The BPR regulates biocides via a two-tiered system: approval of the biocidal active substances is followed by authorisation of the biocidal product( families). These are granted for a maximum period of ten years but can be renewed after this.
The BPR process is quite complicated also because we have been in transition to a full implementation of the Regulation since 2012. This causes a complex situation where various timelines from different regulatory deadlines intertwine as shown in the picture below.
The approval and authorisation data and dossier requirements are extensive and costly. Depending on the number of products and potential cost sharing, the total product compliance dossier investment for a single product can easily add up to € 1.5 million.
Depending on the CLP hazard classification, some active( s) are considered Candidates for Substitution( CfS). In that case, additional thorough investigation of available alternative active substances is necessary to stay on the market. This involves a complex data retrieval process that needs resources, time, effort and budget.
In summary, it is challenging, time-consuming and costly to market biocidal products in the EU. The( regulatory) investments make it essential that innovations in biocides are brought to market as quickly as possible( speed) and can remain on the market as long as possible( sustainability). This will increase predictability in the return on investment, support market stability and allow companies to re-invest their earned capital in new innovations.
In order to be prepared for changes in your biocides supply chain, organisations need to innovate proactively, using tools that are quick, easy to use and contain reliable data verified and maintained by experts.
NOV / DEC 2025 SPECCHEMONLINE. COM
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