A consumer fraud class action will move forward in Illinois federal court against skin-care company Galderma Laboratories over allegations that its Differin line of acne treatments contains benzoyl peroxide, which can degrade into the carcinogenic compound benzene.

In a Sept. 17 opinion, U.S. District Judge Lindsay C. Jenkins for the Northern District of Illinois denied Galderma Laboratories' motion to dismiss plaintiff Skylar Williams' Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Trade Practices Act (ICFA) claim, based on the theory that "benzene exists in Differin because Galderma does not adhere to current good manufacturing practices."