What is the Draize Rabbit Eye Test?
The Draize Rabbit Eye Test is an acute toxicity assay developed in 1944 by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and has been the basis of ocular irritation screening used by US and other regulatory agencies around the world. This test involves topically dosing a test material (liquid/solids) in to the eye and assessing the effects of the cornea, iris and conjunctiva.
A current challenge facing regulators is to eliminate the use of live animals in eye irritation testing, which will allow categorization of irritation from non-irritating to corrosive. Efforts to meet this challenge have been met with very limited success because, in vitro and alternative tests must satisfy the regulatory community (i.e., FDA , EPA, OECD, HMIS, etc.) with a level of conservatism as the current Draize Rabbit Eye test.
MB Research has been using and developed in vitro and alternative ocular irritation testing since the late 1980s. We offer a wide array of non-animal test methods to aid in the classification of consumer products, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics.
For more information about ocular irritation testing, please feel free to contact us.