The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has hosted the first meeting of its Collaborative Platform on Alternatives to Animal Testing (CP-AAT).
The event brought together Member States, the European Commission, EU agencies, industry and public-private partnerships to define priorities and strengthen cooperation on the use of alternatives to animal testing.
The members of the platform discussed the wide range of ongoing alternative methods initiatives across Europe, as well as shared challenges in advancing and applying them. They emphasised the importance of structured and continuous information exchange to support progress and avoid duplication of efforts.
Four priority areas were identified for the platform’s initial two-year work programme:
QSARs: promote regulatory use of in silico methods, starting with acute oral toxicity, by showing practical use and setting clear performance criteria for hazard assessment;
In vitro toxicokinetics: develop harmonised approaches for using in vitro toxicokinetic data and align scientific and regulatory expectations;
Omics: Support use of omics technologies (e.g. transcriptomics, metabolomics) in hazard identification and grouping through guidance and case studies; and
New approach methodologies (NAMs) for nano- and advanced materials: create regulatory approaches to assess nanomaterials’ specific properties and enable their inclusion in non-animal testing strategies.
These priorities reflect areas where further collaboration and alignment are needed to support regulatory uptake. Their scope will now be developed in more detail, with work expected to begin shortly.
Podcast
Listen to our safer chemicals podcast where ECHA’s Tomasz Sobanski talks about the Commission roadmap and how the new Collaborative Platform on Alternatives to Animal Testing supports the ambition to phase out animal testing.
Background
The Collaborative Platform on Alternatives to Animal Testing is an informal and non-binding forum meeting twice a year focusing on scientific exchange, capacity building and development of a common understanding on the regulatory use of alternative methods. The platform is ECHA’s first contribution to the European Commission’s roadmap towards phasing out animal testing, which was published on 1 June 2026.
Source: European Chemicals Agency
Further information:
Collaborative Platform on Alternatives to Animal Testing
ECHA supports EU roadmap for alternatives to animal testing with new collaborative platform
Roadmap towards phasing out animal testing and related materials
