Animal-free efficacy and safety testing on 3D reconstructed human skin and ex vivo explants — for pharmaceuticals, quasi-drugs and cosmetics

Human skin models, no animal testing. Validated commercial reconstructed human epidermis including MelanoDerm pigmented epidermis, full-thickness T-Skin, EpiVaginal reconstructed vaginal-ectocervical tissue, ex vivo human skin explants, and 2D cultures of primary keratinocytes, fibroblasts and melanocytes.

What we measure

•    Inflammation — cytokine and inflammatory mediator release

•    Barrier and differentiation — FLG, IVL, LOR · TEER · Lucifer Yellow penetration, imaged and quantified

•    Matrix remodelling — MMPs · collagen I and III · elastin

•    Hydration — HAS2 and hyaluronic acid

•    Pigmentation — melanin content, melanogenesis markers, instrumental colour (ITA°)

•    Wound healing — re-epithelialisation and repair kinetics

•    Anti-aging — extracellular matrix remodelling, cellular senescence (SA-β-gal)

Induced disease models. Atopic dermatitis and psoriasis induced on reconstructed models, with paired untreated and untreated-induced controls, so the effect is measured on diseased tissue rather than on healthy skin.

Regulatory safety testing on request. OECD TG 439 (in vitro skin irritation) and TG 492 (eye irritation on reconstructed corneal epithelium). Skin sensitisation with GARD®skin, included in OECD TG 442E and in the defined approaches of OECD TG 497, through our partnership with SenzaGen — giving hazard identification and CLP potency sub-categorisation rather than a single key event. Phototoxicity and genotoxicity are run with qualified partners.

Beyond a marker panel. With our partner GENXMAP, whole-transcriptome RNA-Seq takes you from a handful of pre-selected markers to mechanism of action, off-target effects and new claims from a single experiment.

We would like to meet pharmaceutical and dermatology companies, quasi-drug developers, and cosmetics and personal care companies who need claim substantiation without animal testing.