An animal-free lab venture in Liverpool has received £100,000 in funding for a study into vegan-friendly testing.
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An animal-free testing lab in Liverpool has just secured £100,000 funding for a study into completely vegan-friendly testing.
The XCellR8 lab near Daresbury has received funds from various companies including Unilever and AstraZeneca (the producers of one of the Covid-19 vaccines).
With increasing consumer concern over animal testing and demand for vegan and cruelty-free beauty products, now is the perfect time for innovative laboratories.
XCellR8 is the only lab to make its tests 100% animal-product free, refusing to use serums, tissues or antibodies extracted from sentient beings. Instead, the lab uses in vitro techniques, replacing outdated animal research with human cell studies.
The new study is part of the CRACK IT challenge-led competition which funds collaborations between businesses, academics, and industries, hoping to develop innovative solutions into marketable products or services.
The potential success of the study could mean a global acceptance of new guidelines used by the industry.
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‘Address this gap in the science’
Speaking to Liverpool Business News, XCellR8 Founder Dr Carol Treasure explained:
“The increased availability of in vitro testing services has already saved the lives of countless animals and helped to improve the accuracy and reliability of tests that humans rely on to be sure that products are safe.
“However, the ongoing use of animal components in most of these tests compromises their human relevance and can affect the reproducibility of results — a factor that has been largely overlooked until recently.
“As consumer demand for vegan products, sustainable supply chains and robust product safety grows, we’re delighted to see Unilever and AstraZeneca sponsoring work to address this gap in the science.”
We hope that this innovative research can produce a butterfly effect across laboratories all over the globe and secure an animal-free testing future.
Have you got a great idea for an innovative new vegan product or brand?
Read our guide on How to develop a new vegan product – the inspiration, process and pitfalls.
