Lysol is often the first and last word when it comes to disinfecting and cleaning the home—but it may not be the only word. Reckitt is looking for an alternative active ingredient that can kill germs in high-dilution scenarios. At the same time, Reckitt is seeking a highly-concentrated and compact detergent formula that can be safely diluted by the consumer at home. Finally, the company is looking for a photocatalytic process and/or material that can kill bacteria using light sources commonly present in homes.
 
To find solutions to these challenges, Reckitt has partnered with Halo to connect and collaborate with scientists around the world. The innovation platform has a network of thousands of PhDs across 65 countries and six continents. To submit a solution, click here.
 
Halo was founded in 2017 as a crowdfunding platform for medical research to help advance promising discoveries out of universities and across the so-called valley of death in drug development, according to CEO and Founder Kevin Leland.
 
“Through that experience, I learned that researchers needed more than just funding to move their innovations forward. They needed the support and resources of industry,” he recalled. “So, in 2019, we relaunched Halo as a marketplace and network that connects companies directly with scientists to solve problems and bring new innovations to market.”

Since going live in 2019, more than 2,000 scientists, startups and universities have joined the platform. In addition to Reckitt, Halo has worked with PepsiCo, Georgia-Pacific, Bayer and Baxter, among others. For this project, Reckitt has some specific demands.
 
 

What Reckitt Wants

 
In its search for a concentrated, dilutable bleaching additive for laundry, Reckitt demands a final formula diluted in a range from 1:3 to 1:10 must be stable for use in the short term (approximately 2 weeks). The formula must be capable of being produced at high commercial volumes (1-15 million units at 50-100ml/unit) at a reasonable cost (< $1.80/Kg of finished formula). It must be effective on oxidizable stains, and safe for consumer use under European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) guidelines. In addition, the selected additive will enable RB to decrease packaging, weight, transport costs, and related environmental impacts compared to traditional gel detergents in 750ml bottles.
 
Reckitt also seeks alternative germ-killing actives to quaternary ammonium for use in Lysol and Dettol. They should be equally effective at low concentrations, high dilutions and direct replacement volumes. Technologies may either fully replace quats or use quats at low levels (<1%) in combination with an alternative active ingredient. The product must achieve germ kill of at least 3 log reduction (99.9%) within five to 30 minutes (one hour maximum). It must achieve germ kill when the finished formula is diluted in water at 1:125 to 1:50. It must be capable of passing test methods EN 1276 and/or ASTM E2274. Finally, it must be able to be produced at high commercial volumes (>60t/annually) at a reasonable cost.
 
In a departure from traditional household disinfectants, Reckitt seeks to develop photocatalytic processes, chemicals and materials that enable consumers to disinfect both soft and hard surfaces. Solutions of interest include:
·  Photocatalytic processes that kill bacteria using light sources commonly present in homes (near UV and visible light).
·  Photocatalytic processes that produce powerful sanitizers (such as ClO2).
· Combinations of photocatalytic processes with other chemicals that increase antimicrobial activity, particularly substances commonly used in cleaning products like chelants and surfactants.
· Combinations of photocatalytic processes and other antimicrobial agents that are effective at low levels of use.
·  Photocatalytic materials that can be applied to surfaces using aqueous solutions. The solutions can contain surfactants and solvents.
·  Molecules that exhibit antibacterial benefits when used in photocatalysis.
 
For this project, Reckitt has several requirements. One, the photocatalysis-utilizing light sources must common in homes (near UV and visible). Two, antimicrobial benefit of molecules must be evaluated using standard methods and three, materials can be applied to surfaces using aqueous solutions.
 
 

What Halo Offers Partners

 
All of these requirements play to the strength of Halo, according to Leland.
 
“Our network of scientists and startups is particularly deep in the areas of chemical engineering, chemistry and materials science, which lend themselves particularly well to research in consumer goods. That includes packaging, formulation, active ingredients and other technologies relevant to the personal products space,” he explained.
 
By working with Halo, companies receive higher quality and more relevant proposals to their research challenges than other approaches they’ve tried, according to Leland. 

As one example, PepsiCo was looking for moisture barriers for bio-based materials, which are more sustainable than plastic but not great at keeping out moisture. In the past, PepsiCo relied on consultants and experimented with a variety of platforms. For this particular challenge, PepsiCo posted it on its website using third-party software, but was disappointed in the number and quality of proposals it was receiving. 
 
“After posting the opportunity on Halo, PepsiCo received 57 proposals and screened 33 for further evaluation in less than 30 days,” recalled Leland.
 
Although multinationals attract headlines, Leland insists that the Halo customer is really any company that wants to partner with a global network of scientists and bring new innovations to market faster at less cost. 
 
“Our initial customers have been large, multinationals because those are the companies that have traditionally practiced open innovation, but Halo makes it easy for any company to practice open innovation,” he explained.
 
By teaming with Halo, smaller companies don’t need to hire a team of tech scouts around the world or build their own innovation portal. For larger companies, Leland said Halo magnifies their open innovation efforts, expands their visibility into new research and saves them significant amounts of time.
 

A Place for Startups

 
At the same time, Halo can introduce companies to new technologies that may not be on their radar. For its water purification program with Baxter, researchers proposed UV-LED technologies that could more efficiently remove contaminants from water. Georgia-Pacific was looking for sustainable materials as a polystyrene replacement. Researchers proposed solutions using starch, eggshells and chitin derived from the exoskeleton of arthropods. Demand for sustainable solutions to myriad issues will continue to drive markets.
 
“Corporate interest in sustainable technologies, especially sustainable packaging, will only increase as regulations against the use of plastics become more common and consumers increasingly demand companies behave sustainably,” noted Leland.  
 

Pandemic Tradeoffs

 
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a double-edged sword for many companies in the household and personal products industry. Sales of color cosmetics and salon hair care products fell dramatically, while sales of detergents, disinfectants and other hard surface cleaners soared. Halo, too, has been impacted by the pandemic. On one hand, it hurt because some companies cut back on their R&D spend or just spending in general because of the uncertainty brought by the virus, noted Leland. At the same, the pandemic helped because the traditional approach to finding innovations, traveling to conferences and tradeshows, is impossible. That gave companies additional incentive to try Halo and see for themselves that the platform not only saves them time and money, but it’s also far more effective. 
 
“In the case of Baxter, which launched on Halo just as everything was shutting down, it received three times the number of quality proposals in half the time and ultimately funded three projects, including a project out of Australia, without traveling or meeting the researchers in person,” recalled Leland.
 
Of course, not even pandemics last forever and eventually, researchers will be on the road again. But the solutions they seek will still revolve around the same issues.
 
“I can’t speak to specific ingredients, but in general, customers are looking for alternative ingredients that are healthier and more sustainable than what’s currently on the market,” said Leland.
 
And it goes without saying that Halo is here to help.