ICCVAM Biennial Report 2016-2017

The Scientific Advisory Committee on Alternative Toxicological Methods (SACATM) is a federally chartered advisory group that advises NICEATM, ICCVAM, and the Director of the NIEHS about ICCVAM activities. SACATM held public meetings on September 27, 2016, at NIEHS in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and September 18-19, 2017, at NIH in Bethesda, Maryland.

The 2016 SACATM meeting focused on broad questions relevant to development of a U.S. strategic roadmap for implementing new approaches to toxicity testing. Former NTP Associate Director John Bucher, Ph.D., provided an overview of traditional approaches to toxicity testing and issues that will need to be addressed to replace them with alternative approaches. Tim Malloy, J.D., University of California, Los Angeles, expanded on this latter point in a presentation summarizing results of a survey assessing drivers and barriers to implementation of alternative methods. NICEATM Deputy Director Nicole Kleinstreuer, Ph.D., presented a summary of NICEATM and ICCVAM activities. ICCVAM co-chair Anna Lowit, Ph.D., EPA, gave an update on activities relevant to the 2013 ICCVAM Vision and Strategy, and Joanna Matheson, Ph.D., U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, provided a more detailed summary of ICCVAM activities in the area of skin sensitization.

The 2017 SACATM meeting was structured to obtain input on and stimulate discussion about the draft Strategic Roadmap for New Approaches to Evaluate the Safety of Chemicals and Medical Products in the United States. Presentations and discussions during the majority of the two-day meeting focused on how to address the three strategic goals of the roadmap. Matheson and Kleinstreuer described initial activities to implement the roadmap goals in the areas of skin sensitization and acute toxicity, respectively. Updates on activities relevant to ICCVAM were provided by Mark Johnson, Ph.D. (U.S. Department of Defense); Russell Thomas, Ph.D. (EPA, focusing on Tox21 activities), and Louis Scarano, Ph.D. (EPA, focusing on implementation of the 2016 Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act).