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. The project scaled production and put a first product on the market. The approval is the part the record does not show.
Company file
- Legal entity
- Roka Furadada SL, Barcelona, Spain (VAT ESB67401505)
- Founder and CEO
- Judit Camargo
- Product
- Smart UV sun actives for cosmetics; first product PvB360
- Markets
- Korea, USA, Latin America, Indonesia, China, EU, per the company
- Patents
- 8 granted and in process; 5 applications filed during the EIC project
- Team
- 18 people
- EIC project
- SMART UV, 1 Mar 2022 to 29 Feb 2024, closed
- EIC funding
- Grant first
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.
"We are the only deep tech company in the world developing truly disruptive solar actives that redefine the relationship between people and the sun."
Roka Furadada websiteWhat 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.
- Industrial-scale manufacturingDeliveredMulti-kilogram encapsulation validated.
- Regulatory approval for cosmetics in EuropeNot shownTests completed for a second candidate; no approval reported.
- Functional sunscreen formulationsDeliveredFirst product launched; customers testing.
- 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.
What cannot be checked
Whether Smart UV is approved as a UV filter in the EU, how it is labelled in the products that use it, and the split of the €3.2 million EIC funding are not public.
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.
What the project promised
Industrial production, EU approval for cosmetic use and sunscreen formulations for a new UV filter.
What the record shows
Scaled production, a first product and wide patents; no published EU approval.
The Verdict
Launched, but is it approved?
Roka Furadada used the EIC grant to scale up its molecule and bring a first product to market, and it has built a patent position far larger than its 18-person team. The project's central regulatory goal, approval for cosmetic use in Europe, is the one result that neither CORDIS nor the company reports, and it is the one that would make Smart UV a true sunscreen filter.
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.
