Feature: 2014 a Busy Year for EURL ECVAM

• Published a state-of-the art review of test methods and non-testing (computational) approaches that help promote the 3Rs in the safety assessment of chemicals
• Published an updated and expanded Status Report (2013-April 2014) detailing the status and outcomes of ongoing and completed validation studies, and including (for the first time) coverage of toxicity endpoints for vaccines, fish toxicity and fish bioconcentration/bioaccumulation
• Issued draft regulations (and opened for public comment) on the human Cell Line Activation Test (hCLAT) (comments are accepted until December 31; send to this address: jrc-ecvam-contact@ec.europa.eu)
• Finalized peer review of three validation studies: a method for measuring the induction of Cytochrome P450 enzymes in human-derived liver cell cultures, a method using keratinocyte-derived human tissue to assess eye irritation potential, and an in vitro skin irritation method using reconstructed human epidermis; EURL ECVAM will draft Recommendations using this information
• Published final Recommendations for the KeratinoSens assay for skin sensitization testing (draft OECD guidelines available), and for the Zebrafish Embryo Acute Toxicity Test Method (ZFET) for Acute Aquatic Toxicity Testing
• With the US EPA, co-launched the OECD Adverse Outcome Pathway Knowledge Base
• Revised and updated the Database service on Alternative Methods (DB-ALM)
• Launched ChemAgora, a portal linking (currently) 12 third-party chemical structure information databases
• And just this month, published the EURL ECVAM Genotoxicity & Carcinogenicity Consolidated Database, “a structured master database that compiles available genotoxicity and carcinogenicity data for Ames positive chemicals originating from different sources”