Roka Furadada and the EIC Accelerator: A New Kind of Sun Filter

Every sunscreen relies on a small list of approved UV filters, and several of them face questions over stability, skin reactions or environmental effects. Roka Furadada, a Barcelona company founded and led by Judit Camargo, develops Smart UV, an active ingredient it says overcomes the limits of existing filters: fast degradation, toxicity, short protection and the need to combine several filters.

The European Innovation Council granted €1,728,011 towards a €2.47 million project to manufacture Smart UV at industrial scale, obtain regulatory approval for cosmetic use in Europe and develop sunscreen formulations. According to CORDIS, the project validated multi-kilogram encapsulation and put a first product on the market. The approval is the part the record does not show.

Where Roka Furadada Stands Today

The company's website presents it as a "deep biotech company specialising in disruptive solar active ingredients for the cosmetics industry", with Smart UV "patented in more than 44 countries", three product launches in three years, a team of 18 and markets from Korea and the US to Latin America, Indonesia and China. It sells to cosmetics companies, co-creating products "from molecular design all the way to market launch". It describes itself as independent, "even under pressure from investors".

The Technology: A Filter That Lasts

Sunscreen filters absorb or reflect ultraviolet light, but many break down in sunlight, which is why products need reapplying and combine several filters. Smart UV, per the CORDIS report, is a proprietary UV absorber, encapsulated for use in formulations, designed to overcome "fast degradation, toxicity, limited exposure time" and the need for multiple filters. The report cites in vitro and in vivo efficacy studies but publishes no results.

What the EIC Project Promised, and What CORDIS Shows

SMART UV ran from March 2022 to February 2024. The CORDIS report says a manufacturing partner validated encapsulation at multi-kilogram scale, that "all regulatory tests related with the approval of our second candidate molecules" were completed, that PvB360, "the first ROKA Smart UV product in the market", was launched, that "several customers are testing our product", and that five new patent applications were filed. It does not report the outcome of the regulatory process. In the EU, a new UV filter can only be used as such in cosmetics once it is listed in the Cosmetics Regulation after a safety assessment; we found no such listing for Smart UV.

1. Industrial-scale manufacturingPartialMulti-kilogram encapsulation validated.
2. Regulatory approval for cosmetics in EuropeNot shownTests completed for a second candidate; no approval reported.
3. Functional sunscreen formulationsDeliveredFirst product launched; customers testing.
4. Intellectual propertyDeliveredFive new applications during the project.

What Has Happened Since the Award

The Money

In January 2026 Roka Furadada closed a €2.3 million round led by O Financial Club, which had also led a €1.5 million round in 2021 with Klinea Ingeniería Farmacéutica and the Women Angels for Steam network. The article puts EIC funding at €3.2 million and total funding at €7 million, and says the company had revenue "close to one million euros" in 2024 and was "close to reaching break-even". It sells in seven countries, including Spain, France, the US, Korea, Mexico, Italy and Poland. CORDIS records a grant of €1.73 million; how the €3.2 million EIC figure breaks down between grant and any EIC equity is not stated.

Why Europe Should Care

A European company with a patented new sun active could supply the global cosmetics industry, but only if regulators accept it; that step decides whether this is a breakthrough or a niche ingredient.

The Verdict

Roka Furadada has not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records, company statements and EU project data, linked throughout.