European partnership supports IIVS training of Chinese scientists in non-animal tests

May 8, 2019, Gaithersburg, MD – The Institute for In Vitro Sciences, Inc. (IIVS) has received a grant from the European Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing (EPAA) to support its annual training of Chinese scientists in non-animal testing methods. As part of the agreement, two scientists from BASF SE, a member of EPAA, will join IIVS to provide hands-on training in China for four non-animal approaches for skin sensitization. This training follows the recent announcement by China’s National Medical Products Association (NMPA) of acceptance of one non-animal method for skin sensitization, DPRA, which will be included in the training.

“We are proud to have the support of EPAA for our training program(s) which are designed to build proficiency and capacity in non-animal test methods in China,” states Erin Hill, President of IIVS. “We approached BASF scientists to assist us, given their technical proficiency in the tests and experience in providing training. Their inclusion allows us to provide a comprehensive training of internationally validated test methods, as well as introducing a newly developed method, the Kinetic DPRA.”

IIVS’ annual training is part of a Memorandum of Understanding between IIVS and China’s National Institute for Food and Drug Control (NIFDC), a technical subordinate agency of the NMPA. IIVS and the NIFDC work together to assist Chinese scientists in becoming proficient in non-animal test methods to support China’s movement toward accepting alternative tests for the regulation of cosmetics. Recently IIVS was appointed to the NIFDC’s Alternatives Working Group.

IIVS and EPAA have collaborated previously to produce full length training videos for non-animal test methods which have been translated into Chinese, Portuguese and Spanish. These videos are available free of charge at the EPAA website, YouTube, and also distributed at IIVS trainings. Similarly, BASF and IIVS have collaborated over the years to promote the development and standardization of in vitro test methods. Most recently the two organizations worked to officially import the LuSens cells into China where they will be maintained at the NIFDC and distributed to appropriate laboratories. The LuSens assay for skin sensitization will also be taught in the 2019 training course.

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IIVS is a non-profit organization wholly dedicated to the promotion of non-animal test methods. Founded in 1997, IIVS is recognized as a leading provider of in vitro testing in support of toxicological safety evaluations. Rigorous scientific programs coupled with educational and outreach initiatives have established IIVS as a global leader in the advancement of alternatives to animal testing. For more information, visit us at http://www.iivs.org.

Erin Hill

President

Phone: 301-947-1281

[email protected]