L'Oréal recently underlined its commitment to the further development of alternative methods for safety evaluation with the announcement that Episkin, a subsidiary of the group that is dedicated to the development of reconstructed skin, has acquired SkinEthic. SkinEthic, based in Nice, France, is expert in the field of tissue engineering, and its know-how will complement and widen the expertise that already exists within L'Oréal.
SkinEthic is a worldwide player in the production and commercialization of human epidermal and epithelial tissues (including epidermis, dermis, corneal, oral, gingival, oesophageal epithelium, alveolar and vaginal mucosa) for in vitro test applications across many industries. L'Oréal's ultimate goal is to develop a range of approaches and standardized in vitro methods that can be used to test ingredient safety and shared across a number of industry sectors; with the aim of accelerating the elimination of animal testing.
The complimentary nature of Episkin and SkinEthic allows L'Oréal to further advance its commitment to the development of alternative methods for the safety assessment of product ingredients. Commenting on the acquisition, Jean-François Grollier, vice president of research and development at L'Oréal, said in a press statement, "providing cutting-edge teams, such as these, with the opportunity to work at the crossroads of science and industry, demonstrates our support for sustainable innovation."
"The acquisition of SkinEthic allows us to respond to the needs of the entire industry and more specifically in the area of alternative approaches to animal testing - a top priority for L'Oréal," he continued. L'Oréal supports the objective of the elimination of laboratory animal testing and is working on various alternative methods that must be validated by competent scientific authorities.
