China’s FDA and US IIVS to implement non-animal testing for cosmetics

The China Food and Drug Administration’s (CFDA) National Institute for Food and Drug Control (NIFDC) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with US-based, non-profit organisation Institute for In Vitro Sciences (IIVS) to implement non-animal test methods for cosmetics and ingredients.

The new initiative involves an improvement of capacity and proficiency within China’s Government laboratories. The CFDA plans to establish these improvements before changing the regulations for incorporating non-animal tests to make regulatory decisions.

The CFDA officially recognised the first non-animal test for cosmetics in November last year. The new agreement is an expansion of a three year collaboration between the NIFDC and IIVS.

The IIVS helped the NIFDC to provide training and data interpretation workshops to national and provincial government laboratories in China and at its facility in the US. Under the new MoU, the organisations will continue this training and work together on workshops with provincial IFDC executives.

The workshops are expected to build confidence in the new approaches, facilitating their acceptance into the regulatory system.

Founded in 1997, IIVS focuses on promoting new and rapid non-animal testing methods. The organisation conducts scientific programmes, as well as educational and outreach initiatives.