Firm aiming to put an end to animal testing
A£50,000 grant has been awarded to Daresburybased XCellR8 with the aim of ending animal testing for chemical ingredients in cosmetics and household products.
A spokesman for the company said the European funding will be used to develop its pioneering tests, which use human cell-based methods including artificial models of skin and eyes reconstructed from cells donated by cosmetic surgery patients.
He said XCellR8 believes it is the only industrial testing laboratory creating and overhauling testing methods to eliminate all animal elements.
European Union funding provided by Horizon 2020 – the largest-ever EU research and innovation programme – heralds the next stage in developing and evaluating the test pioneered by XCellR8, he said.
The test, which uses human cells cultivated in the laboratory, will identify the level of harm a cosmetic or personal care product could cause to humans. This can be used now as a preliminary screen to gain basic information about likely toxicity for chemical ingredients.
Having this information allows manufacturers to identify and eliminate potentially toxic substances from their product development at an early stage and before human trials. The spokesman said the use of human rather than animal cells in testing is proven to be more accurate when assessing the effects of chemical substances on people.
Now, the EU Horizon 2020 funding provides vital support for XCellR8 to develop its test and move closer to full approval by regulators.
Ultimately this could enable the chemical ingredients industry and its manufacturing customers to stop using animal testing for acute toxicity altogether.
Carol Treasure, XCellR8 cofounder and managing director, said: “Our acute toxicity testing method is aimed at meeting both the safety demands of EU REACH regulations and the ethical demands of the EU Cosmetic Regulation.
“We are confident it can do this by using human skin cells that will give robust test results for human toxicity which are more accurate and reproducible than any animal test.
“It would also reduce the costs associated with animal testing and respond to the overwhelming demand from consumers worldwide for nonanimal tested products.
“Since we founded XCellR8 in 2008, our ethos is to replace animal testing.
“But, as scientists, we also want to create better science and replace animal-based tests with something more valid to predict the safety and effectiveness of cosmetic and personal care products on people.”
Carol added: “As cosmetics become increasingly sophisticated and include more active ingredients, the regulatory authorities are tightening up on the claims brands are mak- ing about their products – such as ‘anti-ageing’ – which means they need to substantiate their claims with data.
“And the current regulations, while necessary, threaten to stifle innovation because without having ‘in vitro’ tests – ie not tested on living things – that meet both REACH and the Cosmetics Regulation, new chemical ingredients can’t be tested or marketed.
“Our mission at XCellR8 is to provide a broad range of scientifically more valid in vitro tests to fill the current gaps and encourage innovation.”