Clean Formula Kenvue’s New Amino Acid Derivatives for Alcohol-Free Oral and Skin Care Products

Consumer healthcare giant Kenvue – the company behind Listerine, Neutrogena and other household personal care brands – has patented a family of novel amino acid derivative compounds designed for use in oral care, skin care and other personal care products. The compounds offer antimicrobial activity in alcohol-free or low-alcohol formulations, addressing a longstanding stability and efficacy challenge in the personal care industry.

The Problem

Amino acid derivatives with antimicrobial properties have long been of interest to personal care product formulators. Compounds such as lauryl arginine ethyl ester (LAE) have been used in oral care products, particularly hydroalcoholic mouth rinses, to prevent bacterial attachment and reduce the microbial load in the mouth. However, LAE and similar compounds have a significant limitation: they lack sufficient stability in low-alcohol or alcohol-free formulations, where they degrade too quickly to provide reliable and lasting antimicrobial benefit.

This matters because consumer preferences and product trends are increasingly moving toward alcohol-free and low-alcohol personal care products, particularly in oral care. Alcohol-based mouth rinses cause a burning sensation that many users find uncomfortable, and there are concerns – particularly for some patient groups – about the long-term effects of regular alcohol exposure in the mouth. An antimicrobial amino acid derivative with improved stability in alcohol-free environments would enable a new generation of gentler, more inclusive personal care formulations.

Beyond oral care, the need for effective, stable antimicrobial actives in skin care, hair care and other personal care formats creates a broader demand for compounds that perform reliably across a wide range of formulation conditions.

What This Invention Does

Kenvue’s invention describes compounds defined by a specific chemical formula – Formula (I) – featuring an amino acid-based core structure with an aliphatic chain of 5 to 22 carbon atoms, an amino functional group and an aliphatic substituent of 1 to 6 carbons. This structural design provides the hydrophilic and lipophilic balance needed for antimicrobial activity while incorporating chemical features that confer improved stability in low-alcohol and alcohol-free environments.

The compounds can be used in a wide range of personal care, cosmetic and pharmaceutical formats, including oral care products (mouthwashes, mouth rinses, mouth sprays, toothpastes and tooth gels), skin care formulations and other personal care compositions. Both the compounds themselves and compositions containing them – along with their methods of use – are covered by the patent.

The result is a versatile, stable antimicrobial platform that enables formulators to maintain the microbial control benefits of amino acid derivative actives in the modern formulation environments that today’s consumers prefer.

Key Features

Alcohol-free compatible stability. The structural design of the Formula (I) compounds provides improved stability in low-alcohol and alcohol-free formulations – overcoming the key limitation of earlier amino acid antimicrobial actives like LAE.

Broad personal care applicability. The compounds are suitable for use across oral care, skin care, hair care and pharmaceutical personal care formats, giving formulators a versatile platform active for multiple product categories.

Defined aliphatic chain length. The 5 to 22 carbon range for the primary aliphatic group provides flexibility to optimise the compound’s hydrophilic/lipophilic balance for specific applications and formulation systems.

Amino acid-based structure. Building from a natural amino acid scaffold provides a biocompatible foundation that supports the compound’s safety profile for use in products applied to the mouth and skin.

Salt form coverage. The patent explicitly covers salts of the compounds, providing comprehensive intellectual property protection across the range of forms the active ingredient may take in commercial formulations.

Who Is Behind It?

Kenvue Brands LLC is the intellectual property holding entity for Kenvue Inc., the consumer healthcare company formed when Johnson & Johnson spun off its consumer health division in 2023. Kenvue’s portfolio includes Listerine, Neutrogena, Aveeno, Band-Aid and numerous other leading personal care and healthcare brands. The inventors are Robert J. Gambogi, Anthony R. Geonnotti III, Michael C. Giano and Latrisha Petersen. This application is a divisional of AU 2023241381, part of a chain tracing back to a US provisional application filed in November 2014 and national phase entry AU 2015346374. The application is managed by Spruson & Ferguson in Sydney.

Why It Matters

The personal care market is enormous, and consumer preferences are driving rapid growth in alcohol-free and “clean formula” product segments. Brands that can deliver the antimicrobial performance that consumers expect from oral care and skin care products – without the drawbacks of alcohol-based actives – have a compelling commercial proposition. Kenvue’s investment in patenting novel amino acid derivative actives reflects the strategic importance of maintaining a proprietary active ingredient pipeline for its major product lines.

With IPC classifications covering cosmetics containing nitrogen compounds (A61K 8/43) and amino acids in cosmetics (A61K 8/44) alongside organic chemistry (C07C 237/06), the patent sits at the interface of formulation chemistry and consumer healthcare – an area where Kenvue’s global scale and research capabilities give it significant advantages.

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AU 2026201540 was published in the Australian Official Journal of Patents on 19 March 2026 and is open for public inspection. Patent applications represent inventions that are sought to be protected and do not necessarily reflect commercially available products.

Related Concepts

Kenvue, the consumer healthcare spinoff of Johnson & Johnson, owns some of the most widely recognised personal care brands globally, including Listerine and Neutrogena. Its investment in novel amino acid-derived antimicrobial actives reflects the strategic importance of developing proprietary ingredients suited to modern alcohol-free formulations.

Consumer demand for gentler oral care products is driving growth in alcohol-free mouthwash and rinse formats. Achieving reliable antimicrobial efficacy without alcohol requires stable active ingredients – a core challenge that this patent directly addresses.