Press Releases

GAITHERSBURG, Md., Jan. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Recognizing the urgent need to drive regulatory change in those countries that still require animal testing for cosmetic and personal care products, the Institute for In Vitro Sciences, Inc (IIVS) is expanding its international outreach program. The expanded program will be designed to demonstrate to regulators and industry in these countries how alternative testing strategies for cosmetic products can be integrated into a regulatory acceptance program.

“Generous support from industry and animal protection organizations now enables us to expand our international programs so we can have an impact in countries such as China, Brazil and Russia,” said Dr. Rodger Curren, President of IIVS. He went on to announce that the International Outreach Program will be headed by Dr. Brian Jones who has recently joined IIVS as Director, Education and Outreach.

“We are delighted that Dr. Brian Jones has joined our team and accepted the challenge of leading this program,” said Dr. Curren. “Brian’s recent work with the Chinese sFDA on alternative testing programs and his knowledge from an industry perspective provide the experience we need to develop effective programs of education and skills training for these geographies.”

Dr. Jones began his career in in vitro sciences in 1984 working with Professor Paul Kitos at the University of Kansas. He moved into the industry and continued to work on development of non-animal methods at Mary Kay Inc. Brian’s responsibilities included the assessment of toxicity and sensitization potential of cosmetic ingredients and formulations. Brian left Mary Kay to work for Cosmair, known today as L’Oreal USA, as Manager of Toxicology and Clinical Research, including an emphasis in utilizing alternative testing parameters for US-based products. Following Cosmair, Brian joined Avon Products in 1998 and was responsible for re-establishing Avon’s presence in Alternatives. Brian developed the Cell Biology and In Vitro Laboratory which focuses on use of non-animal methods to assess the safety and efficacy of cosmetic ingredients and products. During that time, Brian worked with IIVS to assist Avon in being the first company to have an insect repellent accepted by the EPA without new animal data being generated.

In 2005, Brian returned to Mary Kay with a primary focus on developing Mary Kay’s efficacy and safety testing using non-animal methods. He traveled to China frequently to work with various Chinese agencies in the area of Alternatives. These efforts included the first conference with AQSIQ (China import/export), presentations to Chinese dermatology associations regarding Alternatives for assessment of cosmetic safety, and initial discussions with the Chinese sFDA regarding acceptance of Alternatives. Brian, Mary Kay, and IIVS hosted a workshop in January 2009 with technical scientists from China CDCs and AQSIQs in the area of Alternatives. Brian continued to establish strong contacts in the research, government, and dermatology arenas in China to promote non-animal test methods.

About IIVS

IIVS is a non-profit organization operating as a center of excellence for in vitro (non-animal) methods used for product safety testing purposes. IIVS’s knowledge of the science and application of alternatives to animal experiments is recognized by regulatory agencies worldwide. It provides education and training for chemical and personal care product companies internationally, enabling them to successfully apply non-animal methods within their product testing programs. IIVS also performs testing services in their own quality controlled laboratories providing access to their expert scientific team on a contract basis.

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 please visit [www.iivs.org][www.iivs.org]

GAITHERSBURG, Md., July 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The EPA has initiated a new program to evaluate the use of non-animal methods to replace the Draize test for eye irritation labeling for antimicrobial cleaning products. The is the first program of its kind and demonstrates the Agency’s commitment to evaluate non-animal methods when valid alternatives are available.

IIVS was an integral part of the collaboration that led up to this initiative. Seven leading consumer product companies - The Procter & Gamble Company, Clorox, Colgate Palmolive, The Dial Corporation, Ecolab, JohnsonDiversey, Inc. and S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. - provided data from in vitro as well as previously conducted animal studies on more than 300 representative cleaning products. IIVS, acting as a neutral party, collated the data, filled gaps with additional non-animal testing, and analyzed the predictive capacity of the alternative approach. Strong support from the animal protection community was also crucial to the success of the program

“The acceptance of non-animal data by the EPA under this pilot program is a tremendous step forward in accelerating the application of scientifically sound alternative methods” said Dr Rodger Curren, President of IIVS. “IIVS was proud to contribute our experience and scientific expertise to both generate and analyze these complex data sets. We deeply appreciate the credence the EPA’s leadership gives to in vitro methods and hope that this will lead to EPA guidelines that will more permanently cover this type of approach.”

The goal of the EPA’s pilot program is to evaluate the effectiveness of a non-animal testing method to replace the current Draize rabbit eye test. This approximately 18-month project encompasses the use of three in vitro assays: the Bovine Corneal Opacity and Permeability test (the use of eyes from cattle recently slaughtered for food, the EpiOcular(TM) model (the use of an in vitro model of the human corneal epithelium produced by MatTek Corp., Ashland MA)), and the Cytosensor Microphysiometer assay (the electronic measurement of the metabolic rate of cell populations to evaluate potential cell toxicity). Assessments have been made of the usefulness of these methods, both individually and as part of a testing strategy, to ensure that antimicrobial cleaning products are appropriately labeled for the protection of consumers.

More information is available on the OPP Web page, “Regulating Antimicrobial Pesticides” at [http://www.epa.gov/oppad001][http://www.epa.gov/oppad001].

About IIVS

IIVS is a non-profit organization wholly dedicated to the promotion of rapid and innovative non-animal testing 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 please visit [www.iivs.org][www.iivs.org]

GAITHERSBURG, Md., June 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — In recognition of its leadership in the optimization, validation and routine use of non-animal testing methods, The Institute for In Vitro Sciences (IIVS), Inc. has been awarded the first Mark Twain Ethical Science Award. This honor, presented by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), recognizes IIVS for its successes in helping hundreds of companies world-wide utilize testing strategies that minimize the use of animals, while at the same time maintain or improve the current level of safety for the public.

IIVS is a non-profit organization operating as a center of excellence for in vitro (non-animal) methods used for product safety testing purposes. IIVS’s knowledge of the science and application of alternatives to animal experiments is recognized by regulatory agencies worldwide. It provides education and training for chemical and personal care product companies internationally, enabling them to successfully apply non-animal methods within their product testing programs. IIVS also performs testing services in their own quality controlled laboratories providing access to their expert scientific team on a contract basis.

“We are honored to be the first recipient of this prestigious award from PETA”, said Dr Rodger Curren, President of IIVS. “Their continued support of our work to expand the application of non-animal methods for product testing has been extremely critical for many of our successes”. As an example, Curren pointed out that PETA had recently provided partial funding for IIVS to participate in an international study for non-animal methods to detect skin irritants which resulted in the European Union accepting certain reconstructed human skin models for regulatory submissions. Curren added that an increasing number of scientists have found that the use of human artificial tissue constructs for product safety testing can provide much more accurate assessments of the potential risk to humans than testing in animals.

IIVS has worked for over thirteen years to advance the field of in vitro alternatives. The Mark Twain Ethical Science Award provides a clear demonstration of the impact of its work.

About IIVS

IIVS is a non-profit organization wholly dedicated to the promotion of rapid and innovative non-animal testing 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 please visit [www.iivs.org][www.iivs.org]

GAITHERSBURG, Md., April 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Dr. Rodger Curren, co-founder and president of the Institute for In Vitro Sciences, has been appointed as a member of the newly re-organized ECVAM Science Advisory Committee (ESAC). Dr. Curren is one of only two non-European members selected for the committee.

The European Center for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM) was created in 1992 by the European Commission to coordinate the validation of alternative test methods at the European Union level. The ESAC provides ECVAM with scientific and technical advice concerning test methods under review, in particular, the ESAC functions as ECVAM’s independent peer review body. Through its assessment the ESAC ultimately concludes the scientific validity of test methods under consideration. ESAC opinions serve as the basis for the development of detailed ECVAM Test Method Recommendations which summarize the method’s applicability, limitations and use for a given purpose.

Curren, who has dedicated most of his career to the validation, use and acceptance of alternative methods and who has received several prestigious honors such as the HSUS Russell & Burch Award, sees his role on the panel as an opportunity to advocate for science-based acceptance policies for new non-animal tests. “It is important that the validation process recognizes the limitations inherent in traditional animal tests, not just the perceived problems with the alternative tests,” says Curren.

The committee is currently comprised of 15 external scientists working in academia, industry and public institutions or as independent consultants. The first meeting of the newly organized committee took place at the Joint Research Centre in Ispra, Italy earlier this week. ESAC’s conclusions on test method validation studies and the validity of the methods will be published as ESAC Opinions on ECVAM’s website.

About IIVS

IIVS is a nonprofit organization wholly dedicated to the promotion of rapid and innovative non-animal testing methods. Founded in 1997, IIVS is recognized as a leading provider of alternative 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.