Roche Diagnostics Supports European Union’s DETECTIVE Project to Reduce Animal Testing
The xCELLigence RTCA System of Roche is being used in the European Union’s DETECTIVE ("Detection of endpoints and biomarkers for repeated dose toxicity using in vitro systems”) Project, a joint study funded by the European Cosmetics Association (Colipa) and the European Commission, where Roche is a member of the consortium . The DETECTIVE Project encompasses fifteen scientific and commercial partners from different EU states under the leadership of Professor Dr. Jürgen Hescheler from the University of Cologne. The goal is to establish a screening pipeline of high content and high throughput, using classical functional genomics, proteomics, and “cellomics” technologies. Ultimately, human biomarkers will be identified and characterized for use in cellular models using repeated dose in vitro testing, in particular for use in the field of cosmetics.
As of March 2009, animal experiments are no longer permitted for use in toxicology testing in the cosmetic industry. Significant progress has been made in recent years to develop alternatives to in vivo toxicity tests for assessing the human safety of new products and product ingredients. Current conditions do, however, not permit complete replacement of animal testing. This is especially true for the testing of repeated dose effects - the effects of products and ingredients used repeatedly over longer periods of time.
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