African and European partners gathered in Brussels for the DeSIRA-Lift conference to drive agroecological transformation across Africa. From research networks to curriculum reform, big steps were taken.
From February 17th to 21st, a technical meeting at the JRC in Ispra brought together OFACand B4Life under the NaturAfrica programme. Led by the ArcX Biodiversity team (JRC.D.6), the session focused on advancing biodiversity cooperation in Africa, with input from other JRC initiatives.
This is the second issue of the Africa Regional Centre of Excellence (ArcX) programme newsletter.
We are thrilled to share our newly published 2024 ECVAM Status Report!
The report highlights our progress in contributing to wider EU efforts to reduce and ultimately eliminate the use of animals in testing and research.
Some key takeaways:
✅ Biotechnology boom: Unprecedented growth in the biotech sector is driving innovation and transforming many domains including biomedical research, development of medicines and in vitro testing.
✅ Standards for in vitro biotech innovation: ECVAM’s work has been instrumental in driving standardisation efforts in the in vitro biotech sector, including contributing to a standardisation roadmap produced by the CEN-CENELEC Focus Group on Organ on Chip.
✅ Better protection of workers and consumers from mutagenic chemicals: ECVAM is leading an informal working group at the UN updating GHS classification criteria to improve the identification of mutagenic chemicals and make better use of non-animal hazard data.
✅ Roadmap to phase out animal testing: We are actively supporting the preparation of the Commission’s roadmap to accelerate the replacement of animal testing in chemical safety assessments.
Learn more by diving into the full report!
Use of alternatives to animal testing for Environmental Safety Assessment (ESA): Report from the 2023 EPAA partners’ forum
IARC Workshop on the Key Characteristics of Carcinogens
Response to Letter to Editors submitted by PE Rasmussen, P Huntsman, TM Singer, MN Jacobs, and CC Trevithick-Sutton (Aug 2024)
International STakeholder NETwork (ISTNET) Workshop for creating a developmental and reproductive toxicity (DART) testing roadmap for regulatory purposes
An overview of immune safety avatar: mimicking the effects of immunomodulatory therapies on the immune system
Bridging imaging-based in vitro methods from biomedical research to regulatory toxicology
The OECD Test Guidelines Programme has released a publication detailing methods for testing chemicals for thyroid hormone disruption. Since 2014, member countries and research centres have focused on developing in vitro assays for this complex area. The document includes OECD consensus reports on the validation status of 11 in vitro methods, based on EU-NETVAL activities from 2017 to 2022.
In the frame of the EuroFAANG INFRA-DEV project, funded by the EU Commission, INRAE organised a hybrid workshop (3-7 Feb 2025) on the potential of cellular systems and genome editing to validate hypotheses and explore new ones in relation to domesticated (farm) animals while adhering to the ethical principles of the 3Rs. EURL ECVAM was there to share its knowledge and resources on non-animal methods in science.
A new bi-national call for interdisciplinary research has been launched by Germany and the Netherlands, focusing on validating and implementing new approach methodologies (NAMs) in regulatory safety and efficacy assessments. The initiative aims to close the translational gap for NAMs, ensuring they are fit for purpose and meet regulatory requirements. The ultimate goal is to implement new animal-free, human relevant methods as OECD guidelines or establish qualified methods for use in efficacy testing for new pharmaceuticals.
A new ESAC Opinion on the scientific validity of the Reconstructed human Skin (RS) Comet and Micronucleus (MN) test methods was just released. The RS Comet and RSMN are separate in vitro assays that use human reconstructed skin models to better represent human skin tissue when compared to traditional submerged monoculture models.
EURL ECVAM just launched a freely accessible Virtual Reality (VR) teaching tool tailored for high school education. This resource supports learning about alternatives to animal testing through an engaging and interactive virtual environment, fostering a deeper understanding of in vitro methods and Three Rs. Experience the fascinating world of VR!
EURL ECVAM is now offering open access to its cutting-edge in vitro High Throughput Testing (HTT) facility via the JRC Open Lab initiative. If you are a developer interested in automating your in vitro method on our HTT platforms to demonstrate transferability, evaluate performance and reduce animal testing then learn more about the call and apply here (deadline 31st March 2025).
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has set up a new Subcommittee on ‘Microphysiological systems and Organ-on-Chip’ (ISO/TC 276/SC2) under Technical Committee (TC) 276 – Biotechnology. This follows the publication of the CEN-CENELEC roadmap for standardising Organ-on-Chip technology, to which EURL ECVAM made a significant contribution. Experts interested in contributing to the new ISO subcommittee should contact their national standardisation body.
The PEPPER public-private non-profit platform based in France that was established to validate promising non-animal methods that can be used in a regulatory context for the identification of chemicals that can disrupt the endocrine system in humans and animals. This one-day symposium was a unique opportunity to bring together a wide range of representatives from the European Commission, the OECD, national ministries, risk assessment agencies, public and private laboratories, research scientists, industry and members of civil society, to celebrate the achievements of Pepper and to discuss ways of working together to accelerate the pace of validation and the uptake of new methods into regulatory use. Maurice Whelan from ECVAM participated in a panel discussion on how validation is central to achieving policy objectives related to safe and sustainable chemicals. 06/12/2024 Maison de la RATP, Paris
Technical Assistance and Knowledge Management
The Water component started in 2024 for an expected duration of 48 months. Activities help achieve better water management and increased human development capacities (HDC) in the water sector in Sub‐Saharan Africa using a gender‐sensitive approach.
