Archive
US EPA Commits to Dramatically Reduce Animal Testing
September 13, 2019The US EPA has committed to dramatically reducing animal testing with a commitment for total elimination by the year 2035. IIVS is proud to have played a part in the move to reduce animal testing, starting with the successful development, and acceptance, of the non-animal eye-irritation defined approach, which was developed by an industry and regulatory consortium led by IIVS' CEO Rodger D. Curren, Ph.D. IIVS looks forward to continuing its collaboration with stakeholders to help the agency achieve its goals. Read the...
Australian Bill Passed to End Animal Testing for Cosmetics
February 21, 2019Measures outlined in the Industrial Chemicals Bill 2017, passed by the Australian senate on 19 February, 2019, will apply to both imported and Australian produced chemicals for use as cosmetic ingredients. The commencement date is set for July 2020 although it is believed that the cosmetics industry will not need an entire year to implement changes to comply with the new law. Additionally, the bill includes funding for the development of alternative test methods. Read the full article....
Strategies for Eye Irritation Testing
September 17, 2018Determination of ocular irritation potential is a key toxicological endpoint required to support chemical and raw material characterization and industrial hygiene, to guide product development, and to achieve final product safety standards. IIVS possesses extensive experience with numerous test methods and testing strategies for commercial, industrial and regulatory applications. From standard regulatory hazard assessments to providing information on the degree of ocular irritation, to discriminating among extremely mild eye area products, IIVS’ Study Directors take the time to understand your...
Defined Approaches for EPA Testing
July 26, 2018The US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) continues to drive significant efforts in the United States to modernize the battery of acute toxicity tests classically known as the “6-pack.” Known for many years as an “all in vivo” testing strategy for products registered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the 6-pack was revised in 2015 to include non-animal (in vitro/ex vivo) test methods for classification and labeling for Eye Irritation, both for commonly used household cleaning products...
Webinar: How GLPs Enhance the Quality of Regulated and Non-Regulated Toxicology
October 18, 2016This one-hour webinar, led by IIVS Director of Quality and Compliance, introduces some of the concepts of Good Laboratory Practices (GLPs) designed to promote study and data integrity within an in vitro toxicology framework. Applying these concepts within your own laboratory should aid in production of robust, repeatable studies. View Slides...
Ocular Irritection (OECD 496)
August 24, 2016The Ocular Irritection Assay is an in chemico eye irritation assay that detects, ranks, and predicts the corneal irritation potential of a test material. The assay assesses changes to the reagent solution (containing proteins, glycoproteins, lipids), which mimics the denaturation and disruption that occurs in corneal proteins in vivo.The test article is applied to a membrane disc that controls the delivery to the reagent solution. The changes in the protein structure are measured by optical density readings in the reagent...
Eye Irritation Test using Reconstructed Human Corneal Epithelium (RhCE) Models (EIT, OECD 492)
August 24, 2016The Eye Irritation Test (EIT) is an OECD-approved in vitro non-animal test method for identifying chemicals and mixtures that may be irritating to the corneal epithelium. The test method utilizes an in vitro reconstructed human corneal epithelium (RhCE) model (EpiOcular™, MatTek Corp. or HCE, SkinEthic™), in an acute exposure assay to support international regulatory labeling requirements, according to the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (UN GHS). The Eye Irritation Test can be used to support...
Bovine Corneal Opacity and Permeability (BCOP, OECD 437) with Optional Histology
August 24, 2016The BCOP (Bovine Corneal Opacity and Permeability) assay is an in vitro eye irritation test method developed by Gautheron et al. (1992), which uses living bovine corneal tissue, obtained as a by-product from abattoirs, to evaluate the potential ocular irritancy of a test article. Types of injury caused by exposure to the test article are quantitatively measured by changes in opacity and permeability to fluorescein. The BCOP assay allows for the investigation of the mechanism of the damage caused. Corneal opacity...
Household & Cleaning Products
August 24, 2016The majority of the products manufactured or sold by the Household and Cleaning Products industry are subject to the requirements of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA) which mandates that the product have appropriate safety labeling. The FHSA does not specifically require animal testing be conducted to determine if a hazard is present, but historically many companies have used animal testing for this purpose – and have continued to do so because of lack of familiarity with newer, non-animal methods. IIVS...
Cosmetics & Personal Care
August 24, 2016European legislation and US research activities towards ‘21st century toxicology’ are setting the standards for animal-free toxicological assessments and the cosmetics industry has been the first to feel the effects. As per EU Regulation 1223/2009, animal testing of cosmetic ingredients and finished products is currently banned in the EU, as is the marketing of finished cosmetic products and the ingredients contained therein which were tested on animals for cosmetic safety assessment purposes. These bans hold irrespective of the availability of validated...