ICCVAM Public Forum: May 2019

May 23, 2019
William H. Natcher Conference Center
National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, Maryland, USA

ICCVAM’s goals include promotion of national and international partnerships between governmental and nongovernmental groups, including academia, industry, advocacy groups, and other key stakeholders. To foster these partnerships ICCVAM holds annual public forums to share information and facilitate direct communication of ideas and suggestions from stakeholders.

At this meeting, over 40 attendees and more than 200 webcast viewers heard presentations by ICCVAM members representing eight U.S. agencies on current activities related to the development and validation of alternative test methods and approaches. Presenters described member agency activities to implement the strategic roadmap for establishing new approaches to evaluate the safety of chemicals and medical products in the United States. A key focus was progress made towards reduction and replacement of animal use for acute toxicity tests required by regulatory agencies: acute systemic toxicity, skin and eye irritation, and skin sensitization testing. Public comments submitted to the meeting praised specific actions agencies have taken in the past year to advance the strategic roadmap goals, and suggested additional activities that could support further progress.