The move is timely, as demand for alternatives to animal testing is on the up from cosmetic and personal care manufacturers in the country who want to comply with newly introduced regulations aimed at phasing out animal tests.
The Episkin mode is being billed as an essential alternative to testing both cosmetic ingredients and finished products, thanks to the fact that it has been developed as a relatively easy way to replicate human skin.
Episkin has adapted the skin test developed at the L’Oreal Predictive Evaluation Centre in Gerland, France for its China business by using Asian keratinocytes to give the skin test a higher chance of being more accurate.
Embracing the era of predictive assessment
" An investment in science and a strong ethical commitment have led us to implement several alternative methods and embrace the era of predictive assessment,” said Laurent Attal, Executive vice-president of Research and Innovation at L'Oréal.
“Worldwide, we share our methods and tools and offer training to universities and authorities. With this objective in mind, we started producing reconstructed Asian skin in China in 2008, so that in the near future we can begin marketing it through Shanghai Episkin Biotechnology”.
L'Oréal has been doing much to profile its name in the area of animal testing alternatives, and underlined this by participating at the 9th World Congress on Alternatives and Animal US in Life Sciences, which was held in Prague back in August.
Participation in 9th World Congress on Alternatives
The company participated in the round-table discussion, “Sharing ethical beauty with all”, which included worldwide initiatives in the business over the last 10 years to provide an insight into predictive methods, that was chaired by Jacques Leclaire, scientific director of research and innovation at L'Oréal.
The session brought together a cross-section of experts in this area, including Robert Kavlock of the US Environmental Protection Agency and Troy Seidle of the Humane Society International, who all described their scientific interactions and training courses adapted for different fields and countries.
At the three-day event L'Oréal also showcased its expertise in "Skin sensitization, Computer modelling, Human relevance, Ecotoxicology”, as well as participating in the “Regulatory Acceptance” debate by sharing its experiences with the development of Episkin.