The potential use of non-invasive methods in the safety assessment of cosmetic products - The report and recommendations of an ECVAM/EEMCO workshop (ECVAM Workshop 36)
V. Rogiers et al., The potential use of non-invasive methods in the safety assessment of cosmetic products - The report and recommendations of an ECVAM/EEMCO workshop (ECVAM Workshop 36), ATLA-ALT L, 27(4), 1999, pp. 515-537
This is the report of the thirty-sixth of a series of workshops organised b
y the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM). EC
VAM's main goal, as defined in 1993 by its Scientific Advisory Committee, i
s to promote the scientific and regulatory acceptance of alternative method
s which reduce, refine or replace the use of laboratory animals. One of the
first priorities set by ECVAM was the implementation of procedures which w
ould enable it to become better informed about the state-of-the-art of non-
animal test development and validation, and the potential for the possible
incorporation of alternative tests into regulatory procedures. It was decid
ed that this would be best achieved by the organisation of ECVAM workshops
on specific topics, at which small groups of invited experts would review t
he current status of various types of in vitro tests and their potential us
es, and make recommendations about the best ways forward (1).
The workshop on The Potential Use of Non-Invasive Methods in the Safety Ass
essment of Cosmetic Products was held in Brussels, Belgium, on 10-12 March
1998, under the co-chairmanship of Michael Palls (ECVAM), Gerald Pierard (t
he European Group for Efficacy Measurements on Cosmetics and Other Topical
Products [EEMCO]) and Vera Rogiers (EEMCO). The participants included scien
tists working in both academia and industry.
The current status of clinical and instrumental assessment of the efficacy
of cosmetics was reviewed, together with the potential of using non-invasiv
e techniques in safety assessment with human volunteers.