Cruelty Free International Looks to End Animal Testing Globally by 2021: What’s in Store for China?

Takehome:

Cruelty Free International attended the "International Cooperation on Cosmetics Regulation" conference and urged regulatory bodies to establish a deadline for a global phase out of animal testing by 2021.

Alternatives testing methods have been invented and applied in half of the global cosmetic market. China currently only accepts one of them (3T3) and hasn't banned animal testing yet.

Cruelty Free International advised on alternative testing methods to substitute animal testing and is looking to end animal testing globally by 2021. Currently, 6 testing endpoints commonly involve animal testing: 1) single dose toxicity, 2) acute oral toxicity, 3) skin irritation, 4) skin sensitization, 5) ocular or other mucous membrane irritation, 6) phototoxicity.

Alternative testing methods for these endpoints have been invented and adapted by countries which banned animal testing. Alternative testing methods fall into the following categories:

1. In vitro testing:

Replace the use of guinea pigs or mice that would have been injected with substance or had it applied to their shaved skin to determine an allergic response, and replace rabbits in painful, prolonged experiments to test their ability to corrode or irritate the skin.

2. Computer (in silico) Modeling:

These models can accurately predict the ways that new drugs will react in the human body and its likelihood of being hazardous. These tests can replace the use of animals in exploratory research and many standard drug tests.

3. Research with human volunteers

A method called "microdosing" that gives volunteers an extremely small one-time drug dose to monitor how drugs behaves in the body, which can replace certain tests on animals and help screen out drug compounds that won't work in humans. This method can be especially applied to brain imaging and recording techniques to replace archaic experiments in which rats, cats, and monkeys have their brains damaged.

4. Human-patient simulators

A virtual-reality and life-like computer simulator is used to simulate illnesses and injuries in humans, it is a good alternative to animal laboratories. Certain kind of simulator call TraumaMan can breathe, bleed and has realistic layers of skin and tissue, ribs, and internal organs, the TraumaMan are already widely used in emergency surgical procedures and proven to impart lifesaving skills better than testing on live pigs, goats or dogs.

In China, only 3T3 in vitro testing method is accepted currently as an alternative and only domestic non-special use cosmetics can be exempted from animal testing. Retailing imported cosmetics using CBEC does not require animal testing. The action of Cruelty Free International surely give the pressure to China, it can be speculated that China may conduct some movement to react the urge of banning animal testing.

For more knowledge about animal testing, you may refer to expert article of Chemlinked: Overview on Regulations on Animal testing for Cosmetics.