Australia's Solar D Sunscreen Secures $30 million Partnership for Global Expansion

SYDNEY and LOS ANGELES, Nov. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Australia's Solar D Sunscreen, the manufacturer of the world's first vitamin D promoting sunscreen, and KW International, a US based supply chain and distribution company that specializes in introducing innovative products into the marketplace, have announced a new exclusive strategic partnership in North America and Asia.

The two-year deal is worth more than AU$30 Million in sales and will focus on the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, South Korea, Japan, China and Taiwan.

The partnership will combine Solar D's patented vitamin D promoting sunscreen and KW International's distribution, sales, marketing, financing and fulfillment to expand Solar D Sunscreen into the broader international market.

Solar D's vitamin D promoting broad spectrum SPF 15, SPF 30 and SPF 50 sunscreens will be distributed through KW International's 42 locations throughout the United States, Mexico, China and South Korea.  KW International will work directly with retailers and skin care manufacturers in North America and Asia to deliver driven results for Solar D Sunscreen. The first joint opportunity is to align the health benefits of vitamin D and Solar D sunscreen with world-class athletes in the United States. Solar D Sunscreen and KW International will also leverage key relationships with the world's largest skin care manufacturers in South Korea to introduce the technology for licensing opportunities.

"We are extremely excited about our partnership with Solar D. Their vitamin D promoting sunscreen is such a unique formula, and it will become the next phenomena in SPF technology. We immediately recognized that the vitamin-D promoting technology could not only change the sunscreen industry, but the entire skincare world," said William Jin, CEO of KW International.

"This opportunity is a game changer for our business, as we now have the ability to leverage off the reach and experience of KW International's business to accelerate Solar D's availability across North America and Asia," said Mathew Collett, CEO and Director of Solar D.

Solar D Sunscreen and KW International have already begun manufacturing and distribution of Solar D throughout North America and Asia. Initial sales through amazon.com and walmart.com have gained momentum and retailers from South Korea have already signed a multi-million dollar commitment.

About Solar D Sunscreen

Solar D developed and patented the world's first vitamin D promoting sunscreen.  Solar D Sunscreen filters the sun's harmful rays, while permitting the passage of a spectrum of sunlight that stimulates natural production of vitamin D in our skin. The vitamin D promoting sunscreen technology has been granted a patent in New Zealand, Australia and Japan and has patents pending in Brazil, Canada, European Union, and the United States. Solar D Sunscreen is available in Australia at Woolworths, Pharmacy Choice, Amcal, Amcal Max, Capital Chemists, Good Price, Sigma, About Life and API. In New Zealand, Solar D is sold at Life Pharmacy and Unichem Pharmacy. In the US, Solar D Sunscreen is available through Solar-d.com, Amazon and walmart.com. Website: www.solar-d.com; Facebook: SolarDSunscreen; Instagram: solarDsunscreen

About KW International

KW is a supply chain and distribution company built on delivering customer success through an industry-differentiating model, using a customer specific comprehensive solution for some of the world's leading electronic and automotive companies.  www.kwinternational.com

Contact:

Studies and references:
* PLOS ONE Journal: New Approach to Develop Optimized Sunscreens that Enable Cutaneous Vitamin D Formation with Minimal Erythema Risk
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0145509

*Shelston IP: Solar D – letting the sunshine (vitamin) in!
http://www.shelstonip.com/news/solar-d-letting-sunshine-vitamin/?utm_source=Mondaq&utm_medium=syndication&utm_campaign=View-Original

* Harvard Health Publications: Vitamin D: Enjoying its day in the sun
http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Vitamin-D-Enjoying-its-day-in-the-sun.htm

New Study Supports Links Between Dementia And Vitamin D Deficiency
http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/new-study-supports-links-between-dementia-and-vitamin-d-deficiency/

Sufficient levels of vitamin D In your body helps prevents breast cancer
http://www.foodconsumer.org/newsite/2/Cancer/vitamin_d_prevents_breast_cancer_0802140851.html

Got vitamin D? Why even during summer, you need a hefty dose
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/07/28/got-vitamin-d-why-even-during-summer-need-hefty-dose.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%253A+foxnews%252Fhealth+(Internal+-+Health+-+Text)

Scientists Blow The Lid on Cancer & Sunscreen Myth
http://www.realfarmacy.com/scientists-blow-the-lid-on-cancer-sunscreen-myth/

Prevalence and correlates of vitamin D deficiency in US adults
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21310306

Predisposing role of vitamin D receptor (VDR) polymorphisms in the development of multiple sclerosis
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27423580

Note

Solar D does not contain vitamin D. Vitamin D cannot be absorbed through the skin. Vitamin D is produced naturally by your body after exposure to a small range of the sun's UVB wavelengths.

Solar D, Vitamin D and Sunscreen Information

1.) Vitamin D is referred to as the "sunshine vitamin" because UVB sunlight is responsible for 90% of the vitamin D we produce.

2.) The wavelengths of light used by the skin to synthesize vitamin D are well documented to be in approximately the 290 to 310 nanometer (nm) range.

3.) Only about 0.5% of the wavelengths reaching the Earth's surface from the sun are in the 290 to 310 nm range. Therefore the amount of usable light available to the skin to form vitamin D is scarce.

4.) Because the Earth's atmosphere filters light in the 290 to 310 nm range, it is only when the sun is high in the sky, that is, principally during midday hours from late spring until early autumn, when any appreciable light in the 290 to 310 nm range can reach the skin.

5.) Typically students and working people spend almost all of their midday hours indoors or in cars, and are therefore shielded from light in the 290 to 310 nm range by buildings and glass.

6.) Most students and working people get sun exposure in amounts needed to prevent vitamin D deficiency only on weekends when they enjoy outdoor activities such as walking, beach going, bike riding or sporting events. Unfortunately for vitamin D production, these activities coincide with the use of sunscreens. Conventional sunscreens with an SPF of 50 filter out up to 99% of the light in the 290 to 310 nm range.

7.) When one considers that only about 0.5% of the wavelengths reaching the Earth's surface from the sun are in the 290 to 310 nm range and that sunscreens filter 95% to 99% of that, it is no wonder that vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency rates are so high.

8.) Each active sunscreen ingredient (UV filter) has a unique light absorption spectrum. A somewhat analogous situation is blue blocker sunglasses, which filter blue light but are transparent to brown light. Each active sunscreen ingredient's absorption spectrum has been graphed showing which wavelengths of light it absorbs (filters) and which wavelengths of light it lets pass through it (transmits). This is physics, not medical science. The absorbencies and transmittances for each of the 20 or so UV filters that are approved for use in sunscreens have been graphed and are well documented. Some approved UV filters permit the transmission of a certain percentage of the light in the 290 to 310 nm range, while some - such as the metals zinc and titanium - are essentially opaque.

9.) "Men and women in bathing suits who were exposed to a 1-MED dose of UVB radiation exhibited increases in blood concentrations of vitamin D that were equivalent to those observed with doses of 10,000-20,000 IU of vitamin D. Therefore, 1 MED is equivalent to 10-50 times the recommended adequate intakes [of food or supplements], which are 200, 400, and 600 IU..." Holick, M. Am J Clin Nutr 2004;80(suppl): p1681.

10.) UCSD Vitamin D researchers conclude that the daily optimum amounts of vitamin D3 are: 2,000 IU for men, 2,000-4,000 IU for women and 400-600 IU for children (Cedric F. Garland, Frank C. Garland, Edward D. Gorham, William B. Grant, Sharif B. Mohr).

11.) Supporting evaluation from the patent examiners at the New Zealand, Australian & Japanese patent offices on Solar D's vitamin D Promoting Sunscreen: After a thorough examination process, the Australian, Japanese and New Zealand patent office issued a patent for our vitamin D promoting sunscreen. These are a bellwether for our pending applications in Brazil, Canada, European Union, and the United States.

12.) Supporting quote from Dr. Michael F. Holick, MD, PhD, Boston University School of Medicine, who is widely considered the world's foremost authority on vitamin D: "Humans have always depended on sunlight as their major source of the 'sunshine vitamin', vitamin D. The skin has a large capacity to produce vitamin D. The use of a sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 50 reduces the production of vitamin D in the skin by more than 99%. Sunscreen use is important for reducing the risk of skin damage from excessive exposure to sunlight. The use of a sunscreen that was designed to permit a certain amount of the very efficient sun rays to reach the skin to produce a vitamin D while protecting the skin from the other damaging ultraviolet rays could result in an increase in the production of vitamin D in the skin."

13.) Vitamin D Deficiency has been shown in over 25,000 research studies worldwide to be associated with numerous illnesses, including Osteoporosis, MS, Auto Immune Diseases, Heart and other cardiac conditions, Worse outcomes in Stroke, Diabetes 1 and 2 and at least 20 types of cancer, including prostate, breast and colon. It has taken our bodies hundreds of thousands of years to evolve to use sunlight to produce vitamin D, but in a few short years, due to changing work environments, lifestyles and highly effective sunscreens, we have all but eliminated our access to the natural source of this important sunshine hormone. There are vitamin D receptors in every cell in our body and at least 10% of our genes, so it is easy to see why a deficiency may be a precursor to various health issues.  

14.) There are over 1 billion people worldwide believed to be vitamin D Deficient.

SOURCE Solar D Sunscreen

Related Links

http://www.solar-d.com