The European Citizens Initiative “Save cruelty free cosmetics” asks for a legislative intervention, including the revision of the EU chemicals regulation and a roadmap to phase-out all animal testing for cosmetic ingredients in the EU before the end of the current legislative term. The BioMed Alliance, representing the European medical and research community, expressed a negative opinion on the Citizens Initiative. In a statement published in its website, the association highlights the detrimental effect the phase-out may have on biomedical research. The request for EU policy makers is, instead, to adopt a more gradual and longer-term approach to the reduction of the use of animals in health. The BioMed Alliance also recalls the many alternative non-animal methods under development, including in vitro, ex vivo, organoid and in silico models, and the fact the current regulatory pathway needs animal data before proceeding towards human studies.
EFPIA, representing the research-based industry, recalled from its website the successful voluntary non-profit collaboration launched in 2022 between four pharmaceutical companies (supported by EFPIA) and the European Chemicals Agency. Three further companies signed up to participate to the pilot project, and over 500 tests – containing physicochemical, toxicological and ecotoxicological substance data – have been uploaded containing information about the hazard properties of 94 substances. All data are publicly available and can be used to develop new methodologies so to decreasing the need for the use of animals in research.
Source: EU Commission, BioMed Alliance, EFPIA