IIVS Joins China’s First Working Group for Alternatives to Animal Testing of Cosmetics

China has taken a major step forward in phasing out animal testing of cosmetics by forming the nascent “Working Group for the Validation of Alternative Methods in Cosmetics”. IIVS has been invited to join the group offering assistance with animal testing alternatives in cosmetics...

Takehome:

China has taken a major step forward in phasing out animal testing of cosmetics by forming the nascent “Working Group for the Validation of Alternative Methods in Cosmetics”.
IIVS has been invited to join the group offering assistance with animal testing alternatives in cosmetics.

On Sep. 19 2018, China Working Group for the Validation of Alternative Methods was established by NIFDC to improve and promote the validation and utilization of alternative testing methods which serve as viable surrogate markers in the assessment of potential toxicities, adverse effects and hazards/risks associated with use of cosmetics. Headed by NIFDC, the newly formed group is composed of 15 cosmetics agencies (testing, research institutions and industry representatives) and backed by an expert advisory panel.

Right after the establishment of this group, US-based IIVS announced on Oct. 9 that it has been appointed to the working group to assist China in developing alternatives to animal testing, in the following 3 ways:

To help China build required infrastructure prior to the acceptance additional alternative methods.
To advise on research and validation efforts and help establish alternatives to animal tests.
To help China incorporate alternatives into the regulation of cosmetics.

What is IIVS

Founded in 1997, the non-profit organization IIVS (short for “Institute for In Vitro Sciences”) has devoted itself to promoting innovative non-animal test methods and it is now acknowledged as a leading provider of in vitro testing in support of toxicological safety evaluations.

IIVS has maintained a sound cooperation relationship with China:

In June 2014, IIVS signed a memorandum of understanding with NIFDC.
In September 2017, IIVS and Zhejiang Institute for Food and Drug Control established an in vitro toxicity collaborating laboratory.
In June 2018, IIVS signed a memorandum of understanding with Zhejiang Institute for Food and Drug Control to deepen cooperation on in vitro toxicology.

Worldwide development of validation institutions

With the promotion of 3R principles (replacement, reduction and refinement) and the development in science and technology, cosmetic safety evaluation has gradually shifted from traditional toxicological testing methods to in vitro testing and toxicity calculation or prediction methods. Specialized research and verification institutions for alternative methods have sprung up around the world accordingly. The main institutions are listed below:

Research and Verification Institutions for Alternatives to Animal Testing around the World
Year Established	Countries	Institution Name	Duties
2000	US	ICCVAM	Established by NIEHS as a permanent interagency committee, ICCVAM is designed to promote development, validation and inspection of alternatives to reduce the use of animal testing.
2007	Japan	JaCVAM	Established by Japan National Institute of Health Sciences as a safety prediction and evaluation department of its Safety Biological Experiment Research Center, JaCVAM aims to promote the 3R principles in animal testing for safety evaluation of cosmetic ingredients in Japan and establish new alternatives through international collaboration.
2009	Korea	KoCVAM	Established as part of NIFDS, KoCVAM is liable for the development, validation and institutionalization of alternatives as well as the cooperation with foreign organizations.
2011	EU	ECVAM	Subordinated to JRC, ECVAM conducts research on alternatives in the EU, from initial research stage to final regulatory acceptance, promotion and application.
2012	Brazil	BraCVAM	BraCVAM helps to handle the requests from parties who are interested in submitting tests for validation and the supervision of validation study.