Regulators play key roles in replacing animals in tox testing

At the annual meeting of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Alternative Toxicological Methods (SACATM), industry representatives requested that regulators clearly describe both information needs and their willingness to accept data from new approach methodologies (NAMs) to fulfill those needs.

Experts from academia, industry, and animal welfare organizations participated in the Sept. 5-6 meeting. They discussed the need for high-quality reference data from past animal tests to evaluate the performance of new methods. They also considered issues involved in sharing and using those data.

NIEHS and National Toxicology Program (NTP) Director Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D., thanked attendees for the productive meeting. She expressed optimism for overcoming the difficulty of many of the issues discussed. “There’s always a way around, and it’s a challenge to figure out how we can make it happen,” she said.

Attendees at the meeting, which was held at NIEHS, discussed actions needed to advance goals outlined in the recently published Strategic Roadmap for Establishing New Approaches to Evaluate the Safety of Chemicals and Medical Products in the United States. One of the goals discussed in depth at the meeting was how to encourage regulators and regulated industry to use new methods.

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