Patent ID: 8343519

Claim:
A composition in the form of an oil-in-water emulsion comprising water, an active agent and at least one salicylic acid derivative of formula (1) present in an amount and a form effective to enhance the efficacy of the active agent in or on the body: wherein R is a linear, branched or cyclic saturated aliphatic group or an aliphatic unsaturated group containing one or a number of double bonds, which may or may not be conjugated, these groups containing from 2 to 22 carbon atoms and being able to be substituted by at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of (a) halogen atoms, (b) a trifluoromethyl group, (c) hydroxyl groups in the free form or esterified by an acid having from 1 to 6 carbon atoms and (d) a carboxyl functional group which is free or esterified by a lower alcohol having from 1 to 6 carbon atoms; R′ is a hydroxyl group or an ester functional group of formula wherein R 1 is a linear or branched saturated or unsaturated aliphatic group having from 1 to 18 carbon atoms, and salts thereof, and wherein the active agent and the at least one salicylic acid derivative are present in the solvent, and wherein the active agent is selected from the group consisting of keratolytic agents, benzoyl peroxide, and mixtures thereof.