Research and analysis

Promoting alternative methods to animal testing

Published 29 June 2023

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

Defra have contributed to national and international activities to support the development and evaluation of non-animal test methods and new approach methodologies (NAMs).

• Defra has provided £1800 to assess the EU’s proposals on what information companies should provide when carrying out endocrine disruption assessments under EU REACH (registration, evaluation, authorisation and restrictions of chemicals). This will inform ongoing policy development in the UK.

• In the financial year of 2022/23 Defra invested £20,648 into the development of tools, guidance, and analysis for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

• Since the start of the financial year in 2021 Defra has also contributed £333,594 to the Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) on research and development that was aimed at allowing the UK to participate, co-lead or lead in developing test guidelines for the OECD.

• Defra contribute resource in the form of expertise to Precision Tox whose goals are to improve chemical safety assessments to better protect human health and the environment.

Defra also provides annual funding to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to carry out its responsibilities as the UK REACH Agency. The activities listed here were carried out by HSE as part of its UK REACH Agency duties. It is not possible to attach a separate figure to the resources committed to these activities.

• Participation in a joint session in an OECD Extended Advisory Group on Molecular Screening and Toxicogenomics (EAGMTS) and Working Party on Hazard Assessment (WPHA) collaboration, on omics in June 2021. The joint session lead to collaboration with researchers, industry scientists and peers from global regulatory authorities on a focus article discussing the use of ‘omics approaches to support grouping and read across’.

• Updating the grouping guidance as the UK-nominated experts on the OECD Steering Group.

• Participation in the Royal Society of Biology Animal Science Meeting (December 2021).

• Collaboration with the British Toxicology Society and the NC3Rs to organise a scientific meeting on NAMs (February 2022) - one HSE specialist spoke on use of NAMs for meeting REACH requirements.

• Joining APCRA (Accelerating the Pace of Chemical Risk Assessment), an international government-to-government initiative whose aim is to promote collaboration and dialogue on the scientific and regulatory needs for the application and acceptance of NAMs in regulatory decision-making.

• Providing advice to Defra’s member of the Stakeholder Advisory Group on an EU Horizon 2020 project on Precision Toxicology and other matters relating to animal tests and alternatives.

• Participation in the cross-government New Approaches to Chemical Risk Assessment in the Regulatory Space (NACRARs) group, which has a steering committee comprising Defra, the Food Standards Agency (FSA), UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). This cross-government group is currently collaborating on a cross-government statement on intent for NAMs, which could be included in the Chemicals Strategy.

• Representation on the United Nations Globally Harmonised System Non-Animal Testing Methods Informal Working Group - they also participate in updating chapters of the Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals with recent developments in non-animal methods.