Alternatives to animal testing continue to be widely used

Helsinki, 8 June 2020 – The findings of ECHA’s fourth report on the use of alternative methods to animal testing under REACH show, in general, relatively few changes in the use of alternatives since the last report in 2017.

The most common adaptation was the use of information on similar substances (read-across, 25 %). This is followed by justifications for omitting data (data waiving), combining information from different sources (weight of evidence) and predicting properties from structurally similar substances using computer models (QSAR).

The amendment of the REACH annexes in 2016, that requires companies to use non-animal testing (in vitro, in chemico) for certain endpoints, has had a clear impact since their use has tripled for skin corrosion/irritation, quadrupled for serious eye damage/eye irritation and increased more than 20-fold for skin sensitisation.

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