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Contributions to OECD Activities

ICCVAM member agencies participate in the development and review of chemical testing guidelines issued by the OECD Test Guidelines Programme. OECD test guidelines are used by government, industry, and independent laboratories of the 38 OECD member countries to assess chemical safety. The U.S. National Coordinators for the OECD Test Guidelines Programme, who are members of ICCVAM, solicit and collate U.S. comments on draft test guidelines and other documents of the Test Guidelines Programme. The National Coordinators represent the United States at the annual meeting of the Working Group of National Coordinators and in other test guideline development activities. One or more ICCVAM subject matter experts may join the U.S. National Coordinators at this meeting.

In 2020 and 2021, ICCVAM agencies commented on draft OECD documents through the U.S. National Coordinators. ICCVAM members and/or NICEATM staff also supported the Test Guidelines Programme during 2020 and 2021 by:

  • Contributing to a proposal to update OECD Test Guideline 496 for in vitro test methods to identify eye irritants to add the OptiSafe test method to the guideline.
  • Serving on an expert group developing a guideline for defined approaches for skin sensitization. This group supported the development of Guideline 497, Defined Approaches for Skin Sensitisation, issued in 2021. Guideline 497 is the first internationally harmonized guideline to describe a non-animal defined approach that can be used to replace an animal test to identify skin sensitizers. NICEATM and ICCVAM scientists are currently contributing to two proposals to update Guideline 497 to include new information sources for existing defined approaches, and new defined approaches for quantitative risk assessment.
  • Participating in a group developing a Case Study on the Use of an IATA for Identifying Androgen Receptor Active Chemicals, which has been submitted to the OECD Working Party on Hazard Assessment.
  • Contributing to a retrospective review of available data and information to support an OECD test guideline for a human reconstructed epidermis model for phototoxicity testing. Test Guideline 498, In Vitro Phototoxicity - Reconstructed Human Epidermis Phototoxicity Test Method, was adopted in June 2021.
  • Serving on the Validation Management Group – Non-animal, which focuses on evaluation of new methods for identifying endocrine disruptors.
  • Serving on an expert group considering test batteries for developmental neurotoxicity.