ECHA establishes alternative testing platform

Following the publication of the European Commission’s roadmap towards phasing out animal testing for chemical safety assessments on 1 June, ECHA has launched its Collaborative Platform on Alternatives to Animal Testing. The agency said that it is committed to the roadmap’s objectives of the roadmap and the transition to non-animal approaches.

The platform, which held its first meeting in Helsinki on 11-12 June, brings together regulators, industry, academia and civil society to exchange knowledge on the efficient regulatory use of animal-free test methods. It focuses focus on the development and regulatory update of non-animal approaches in chemical safety assessments, including aspects related to validation, standardisation and regulatory use.

ECHA will also continue its work in developing new approach methodologies (NAMs), tools, data and methods that support the replacement and reduction of animal testing. This will be conducted through projects and framework contracts in collaboration with international partners and the wider scientific community.

The EC’s roadmap outlines actions to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods. It was developed in response to a European Citizens’ Initiative that was submitted to the EC on 25 January 2023 after gathering more than 1.2 million verified signatures.

As well as identifying gaps, the roadmap sets out concrete ways to address them from research and validation efforts to changes in regulatory practice and change‑management considerations. Based on these, it defines coherent short‑, medium‑ and long‑term objectives, offering a structured pathway towards a next-generation, animal-free safety assessment paradigm.

CEFIC, which supported the development of the roadmap, notably through its long‑standing engagement in the European Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing, welcomed its publication as “a tangible outcome of a constructive and fruitful collaboration between all stakeholders involved – regulators, agencies, industry, academia and civil society”. Looking ahead, the association called for the necessary resources, governance structures and coordination mechanisms to be put in place to ensure the effective implementation of the recommendations. 

“For the first time, we have a shared and realistic understanding of both the potential and the limitations of animal-free approaches. That clarity matters, because it gives us a solid foundation to innovate, to invest, and to build trust in new ways of assessing chemical safety,” said Katia Lacasse, CEFIC’s senior advisor on product stewardship.