SenzaGen and RIFM advance collaboration in non-animal photosensitization testing – new grant worth SEK 3.0m

SenzaGen and the Research Institute for Fragrance Materials (RIFM) are expanding their collaboration with a new SEK 3.0 million grant for in vitro photosensitization. Starting in the third quarter, the assignment will be carried out at SenzaGen’s GLP-certified laboratory in Lund throughout 2024.

Following several successful evaluations, RIFM has decided to test additional ingredients using the GARD®skin Dose-Response method, which provides unique and quantitative information on skin-sensitizing substances. As part of the assignment, the method will be developed to identify photoallergens and distinguish them from photoirritants. Measuring this risk is particularly relevant for product development companies within the cosmetics and chemicals industries, two of SenzaGen’s key customer segments.

“With great enthusiasm, we are advancing our collaboration with RIFM to ensure the development of our unique method for photosensitization and photoirritation. This assignment brings us closer to our shared objective of providing the industry with innovative, non-animal solutions that improve consumer product safety,” says Peter Nählstedt, CEO and President of SenzaGen.

RIFM is the leading international research institute at the forefront of the safe use of fragrance materials used in consumer products. Their scientific assessments assist the consumer product industries in understanding and managing the safe use of fragrance-producing substances.

“Given our positive results from previous tests, it was essential to extend our collaboration,” says RIFM Principal Scientist Gretchen Ritacco, MS, Dermatotoxicology. Ritacco leads RIFM’s Photoirritation/Photoallergenicity research and safety assessment programs. “This expanded analysis will involve testing additional reference chemicals to enhance our understanding of how the method can identify potential photoallergens and differentiate them from photoirritants.”

Since 2020, SenzaGen and RIFM have collaborated on several projects to promote sustainable and ethical development in the testing market.

For more information, please contact:
Peter Nählstedt, President and CEO, SenzaGen AB
Email: peter.nahlstedt@senzagen.com | Mobile: 0700-23 44 31

Gretchen Ritacco, Principal Scientist, Dermatotoxicology, RIFM
Email: gritacco@rifm.org | Mobile: +1-862-401-2978

About RIFM
Established in 1966, the Research Institute for Fragrance Materials (RIFM) generates, analyzes, evaluates, and distributes data to provide a scientific basis for the safe use of fragrances. RIFM has compiled the most comprehensive, worldwide source of toxicology data, literature, and general information on fragrance and flavor raw materials. RIFM’s Fragrance Ingredient Safety Assessment program draws from its comprehensive database of over 80,000 references and approximately 200,000 human health and environmental studies.

RIFM assesses the safety of fragrance ingredients by the most current, internationally accepted guidelines—and has done so since its founding. The Expert Panel for Fragrance Safety, an independent, international team of researchers and academics with no ties to the fragrance industry, reviews all of RIFM’s work before RIFM submits it for peer-reviewed publication in a reputable scientific journal. RIFM makes all of its published, peer-reviewed work—current and historical—available for free at fragrancematerialsafetyresource.elsevier.com.