Cosmetics testing

Medicines

New medical drugs have to be tested to ensure they work and are safe before they can be prescribed. There are three main stages:

1. The drugs are tested using computer models and human cells grown in the laboratory.
2. Drugs that pass the first stage are tested on animals. A typical test involves giving a known amount of the substance to the animals, then monitoring them carefully for any side-effects.
3. Drugs that have passed animal tests are used in clinical trials. They are tested on healthy volunteers to check they are safe. The substances are then tested on people with the illness that the drugs are designed to treat to ensure that they are safe and work properly.

Cosmetics

Most substances do not pass all the tests and trials, so drug development is expensive and takes a long time. In the UK, new medicines have to be tested on animals. However, it has been illegal to test cosmetics on animals in this country since 1998, and in the rest of the EU from 2009.

However, cosmetic ingredients with medical uses must still be tested on animals. Animal testing is carried out to ensure that ingredients are safe to use. However some people have ethical concerns about such tests.

Now try a Test Bite.