Proposal for Non-Animal Testing Strategy

Courtesy of HSUS

A proposal by the FDA, the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute, and the Cardiac Safety Research Consortium proposes the use of two non-animal approaches to testing for drugs that are toxic to the heart: computer modeling and human cell-based assays. The goal is to have the tests ready for use in two years to completely replace animal testing in this area.

“This is a truly exciting initiative, which confirms that the extensive international work by The Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society International and other organizations in moving away from animal testing in chemical safety evaluation will lead to more effective human health outcomes,” said Catherine Willett, PhD, director of regulatory toxicology for The HSUS.

LabSkin Further Endorsed for Cosmetics Testing

Courtesy CosmeticsDesign-Europe.com

LabSkin, the skin equivalent model developed by Evocutis, has recently been endorsed by a leading expert in the field of dermatology. Dr. Majella Lane, a senior lecturer at the University College London’s School of Pharmacy, performed clinical trials using LabSkin and, as a result of the findings, advocated the technology. Read more about it here. And learn more about LabSkin and the company that created it here. Or watch its video here.

“Organs-on-chips” May One Day End Animal Testing

Courtesy Wyss Institute

Read about this break-through technology that could end animal testing (cosmetic and medical) forever. It’s a chip that contains micro-channels lined with human cells that researchers can use to mimic human organs, and it’s being manufactured by the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University. From the article:

The ultimate goal is to be able to determine the efficacy and safety of new drugs in humans in less time and at lower costs than traditional animal testing.

Cutting-edge technology like this will one day lead to the eradication of animal testing. Pretty amazing stuff!

The Future Without Animal Testing Will Look Like LabSkin

Courtesy of Evocutis

Evocutis, a scientific research and development company in Wetherby, England, has developed a human skin substitute called LabSkin. According to its site:

LabSkin^TM ready-to-use human living skin equivalents for use in your own cell culture laboratory, as an alternative to animal testing.

The company markets this products to other scientists and companies as, among other things, a platform for non-animal testing of skin care products! And the product is ready now–not in concept or testing phases–you can buy it today! This is a breakthrough for opponents of animal testing, in my opinion. To everyone who has told you, in response to your anti-animal-testing stance, “But there’s no alternative, and we can’t use products we don’t know are safe!” you can tell them about this! And to all the companies you may have contacted, asking them to stop animal testing, you can provide them this link!  Pretty amazing stuff.

European Union bans animal testing of cosmetics!

The EU has banned animal testing of cosmetics! This will lead the way for other countries to do the same. In the meantime, we here in the United States must continue to read labels on our cosmetics (or buy everything from the EU!). Read the article here: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/eu-set-to-ban-animal-testing-for-cosmetics-forever-189013971.html