German beauty company Henkel is now offering unlimited access to its in vitro testing tools, the Phenion bioartificial human skin model, which was previously only used for its own research – a step which it hopes will ‘significantly contribute to the reduction and replacement of animal testing.’

The company has granted unlimited access of the Phenion branded skin models, which can be used for safety assessment or basic research in dermatology and cosmetic science, and used to discover the effect of raw materials or products on the human skin.

Now actively commercializing its alternative cell-based methods, Dr. Dirk Petersohn, Director Biological & Clinical Research at Henkel Beauty Care, said, “For a vast diversity of substances, skin is the site of first contact. Our competence in skin physiology provides solutions for regulatory toxicology as well as for general skin research.
“We have been using our innovative skin models for our own research purposes for many years. Now, we want to take the next step and make the Phenion products accessible for other companies, organizations and research institutes.”

Emulating the human skin and used for various purposes, such as the skin’s compatibility of cosmetic products, the company has recently innovated with the Phenion Full-Thickness AGED Skin Model – a surrogate for aged human skin.

Petersohn continued, “Our skin models are exclusively populated with primary human cells, thus perfectly mimicking human skin in diverse dimensions, such as histological architecture and a wide spectrum of physiological skin parameters.”