9th World Congress on animal testing alternatives starts next week

The five day congress, which is organised by Guarant International, will start on August 24^th and will include experts from all over the world, including Australian, the US, South Korea, Brazil and China.

Said to be the largest gathering ever to tackle the subject of animal testing alternatives, the one day conference programme will focus on the latest development and regulatory expertise from around the world.

Focus on animal testing alternatives for cosmetics

There will also be several segment specifically dedicated to the cosmetics and personal care sector, including a presentation by the Human Society International entitled X-2: Cosmetics around the world, which will run from 10am to noon on August 28th.

This session will include speakers who have been involved in the HSI campaing BeCrueltyFree, and will include eight experts from different areas of expertise from all over the world.

The speakers will include Claire Mansfield, BeCrueltyFree campaigns director, who will reflect on the implications of the EU ban on animal testing for cosmetics, both throughout Europe and how the ruling has affected other global markets.

Risk assessment, topical skin toxicity, endocrine disruption...

Other sessions that will also be of particular interest to cosmetic and personal care professionals will include a 10:15 presentation on August 25^th by Vera Rogiers of Vrije Universiteit, Brussels and Carl Westermorland of Unilever UK on Risk Assessment – Cosmetics.

Also on August 25^th, L’Oréal expert Nathalie Alépée and Helena Kandarove of SETOX/MatTek will be on hand at 13:30 to give an insight into the latest advances in Topical Toxicity for Skin.

While endocrine disruption continues to hit the headlines linked to ingredients such as phthalates, a presentation on the subject will be also be given at 13:30 on August 25^th that will include expert David Dix from US government body EPA and Jean-Lou Dorne of Italy’s EFSA.

Other presentations to look out for include Cosmetics Europe presenting about alternatives on August 25^th, a round table hosted by L’Oreal about the 3Rson August 26^th, and two separate presentations on skin sensitization – one on August 26^th, the other on August 27^th.

To see the full congress programme, please click here.