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Animal Experiments

Answer

We will replace the test used to assess the potential of chemical substances to cause irritation to human skin with the non-animal EPISKIN-SIT test (or any other suitable and validated non-animal model) where scientifically justified and amend existing licences, as necessary, once the agreed protocols for regulatory testing are agreed and published.The determination for regulatory purposes of a material's potential to cause skin irritation is currently largely done by animal testing. On 27 April 2007 the European Centre for the Validation of Alternatives Methods (ECVAM) Scientific Advisory Committee issued a validation statement with respect to two non-animal tests methods, EPISKIN and EpiDerm, for predicting skin irritation potential. The validation statement described the EPISKIN system as being a reliable and relevant stand-alone alternative method for this purpose, and the EpiDerm system as having the potential to reliably identify skin irritants within a tiered-testing strategy. Work is now under way within ECVAM to develop internationally agreed protocols for the use of these methods for regulatory purposes.We have already advised the relevant project licence holders of the validation statement, and the need to use the in vitro methods once the agreed protocols for regulatory testing become available. Thereafter, it will be possible for the Home Office to authorise the use of the animal test only in cases where it can be demonstrated that the in vitro methods would not produce scientifically satisfactory results.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

160970; 465 c913W

Session

2006-07

Subjects

Animal experiments Licensing

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk