XCellR8 receives £51,000 from Animal Aid to develop animal-free testing

XCellR8 has received £51,000 in funding from Animal Aid to help develop its new cruelty-free safety test for chemicals and substances.

According to XCellR8, over 80,000 animals are currently used in acute toxicity testing in the EU every year.

Acute toxicity describes the adverse effects of substances on our bodies following a single exposure or multiple exposures in a short period of time. This can occur through beauty testing for products including shampoo, conditioner, skincare and makeup.

To combat this, XCellR8 is working to find a scientifically and ethically advanced solution by developing a cell culture-based test that is more relevant to our real-life exposure to chemicals. This will use ethically donated human cells.

The acute toxicity project began in May 2021 and was awarded 70% of funding by Innovate UK. Since then, XCellR8 have made "great progress" in overcoming the scientific challenges of developing a validated test to replace animal models.

Making up the other 30% in funding, national campaign group Animal Aid have stepped in to help. The funds will help to support XCellR8 to continue developing an advanced solution for product testing, aiming to completely replace the LD50 test and use of animals.

Iain Green, Director of Animal Aid, said: "Animal Aid are delighted to be announcing our support for XCellR8 and their ground-breaking work to replace the outdated and incredibly cruel LD50 test. It’s incredible that tests such as these persist today. The tide is turning against animal experiments. The scientific evidence of their unreliability and the public repulsion at the breeding, harming and killing of animals is mounting every day. It’s time for humane, cutting-edge science, the likes of which is exemplified by XCellR8."