IIVS, supported by a grant from Colgate-Palmolive, held a training course this month in Goiania, Brazil focused on two

in vitro methods with international regulatory acceptance status. The course, Alternative Methods for Evaluation of Toxicity, was attended by over 30 participants from industry and government who participated in both lectures and hands-on exercises. The training course was organized as a satellite workshop to the Congress of Brazilian Toxicology, CBTox, in Goias, Brazil. 

In recent years, Brazil has been putting greater emphasis on non-animal test methods for the regulation of products – especially cosmetics. ANVISA, the Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency, which is responsible for the registration of products, currently recognizes the use of a number of alternative methods. In 2014 CONCEA, a multi-institutional council responsible for controlling and monitoring the implementation of alternative methods in Brazil, officially adopted 17 alternative test methods with international regulatory acceptance, and established a five-year term for their implementation. 

Bo Li, General Director of the CFDA’s National Institute for Food and Drug Control (NIFDC) and Erin Hill, IIVS President, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to bring non-animal test methods to China for the regulation of cosmetics and ingredients. The move reaffirms and expands a three-year partnership between the NIFDC and IIVS.

Currently China has mandatory animal testing for many products, including special use and imported cosmetics. Wishing to modernize their regulations, CFDA has developed a plan to build capacity and proficiency within its government laboratories — key steps that the CFDA has stated must be achieved before regulations can be changed to incorporate non-animal tests for regulatory decision making. To date, IIVS has helped NIFDC implement its plan by providing hands-on training, data interpretation workshops and other key elements to national and provincial government laboratories both in China and at its laboratory in the US. In November of 2016 the CFDA officially recognized the first non-animal test for cosmetics.

Earlier this month IIVS was honored to participate in the launch of the Canadian Centre for Alternatives to Animal Methods (CCAAM), and its subsidiary, the Canadian Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (CCVAM). The two-day celebration and workshop was attended by representatives of international 3Rs organizations, validation centers, government agencies (including Health Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada), industry and NGO’s.  

Housed at the University of Windsor in Ontario, the Centres' vision is to replace animals in Canadian biomedical research, education and regulatory testing through 21st Century science innovation and ethics. The Centres' mission is to serve as the Canadian leader and nexus to advance alternatives to animal testing through academic, industry, government and non-profit interdisciplinary initiatives. Through breakout groups at the workshop, suggestions were made on short term and long term activities that would help drive replacement in the three sectors. 

"I am enthusiastically looking forward to working with national and international stakeholders to promote the paradigm shift needed to transition from animal models to integrative human-based frameworks that hold great translational potential while eliminating animal suffering," said the Centres' Founding Executive Director, Dr. Charu Chandrasekera.

For more information about the Centres, contact Dr. Charu Chandrasekera.

You can still register to attend the IIVS 2018 Practical Methods in In Vitro Toxicology Workshop, which will be held Jan. 16-19 at IIVS in Gaithersburg, MD. Observation spots are available for the intensive four-day program. Participants will hear from experts in

in vitro toxicology and gain laboratory experience, through observation, in applying in vitro techniques.

Two of our training videos are now available in Spanish. The Bovine Corneal Opacity and Permeability (BCOP) video demonstrates how to perform the assay according to OECD Test Guidelines. The 3T3 Neutral Red Uptake Phototoxicity Test video explores a cell-based method for assessing Phototoxicity or the potential for chemicals to cause damage after being exposed to light.