National Medical Products Administration:The Product Claiming Using “Cosmeceuticals” or “EGF” Was Illegal

To avoid confusion between the concepts of cosmetics and cosmeceutical, most countries in the world do not advocate the concept of cosmeceutical at the legal level. In part of areas, some products in the category of drugs or quasi-drug have the use purpose of cosmetics at the same time, but these products should meet the regulatory requirements of drugs or quasi-drug. So there are no cosmeceutical products that are solely managed according to cosmetics regulations. On January 10, 2019, the National Medical Products Administration issued the Answers to Frequently Asked Questions on Cosmetics Supervision and Administration (1)(hereinafter referred to as Answers (1)), clarifying the regulatory attitude towards the concepts of cosmeceutical, cosmeceutical products and medical skin care products, and pointing out that the claim of cosmeceutical is illegal.

Unlike oligopeptide-1, Epidermal Growth Factor-1(EGF) cannot be used as a cosmetic raw material.Oligopeptide-1 is generally used as a skin conditioner,while EGF is commonly used in the medical field.The clinical indications are related to the usage of treating external burns, wounds and surgical wound and accelerating the growth of transplanted epidermis.Based on the consideration of effectiveness and safety,the products added with EGF in its formula or the claiming containing “EGF” are illegal. The National Medical Products Administration has clearly stipulated in Answers (1) that EGF cannot be used or publicized as a cosmetic raw material.