January 2008
In November, the E.U.’s Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods announced the validation of MatTek’s EpiDerm reconstructed skin model as a full replacement for rabbits in skin-irritation tests of chemicals and drugs. A donation from PETA Europe to the Institute for In Vitro Sciences in Maryland had allowed scientists at the facility to work on the validation process and provide data needed for approval of the method. EpiDerm joins two other methods that have been approved as alternatives to replace the use of rabbits in skin-irritation tests throughout the E.U.
