International Partnerships
Frequent and transparent communication with international partners ensures that development and evaluation of alternatives to animal testing are harmonized, where feasible, to account for international regulatory requirements. ICCVAM interacts with international counterparts primarily through two venues: the International Cooperation on Alternative Test Methods (ICATM) and the Test Guidelines Programme of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Translations of U.S. Strategic Roadmap Available
The Strategic Roadmap for Establishing New Approaches to Evaluate the Safety of Chemicals and Medical Products in the United States has been translated into Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish. The translated documents are available on the Strategic Roadmap webpage.
ICATM: International Cooperation on Alternative Test Methods
ICATM observed its tenth anniversary at a workshop in October 2019. ICATM was created to foster dialog among national validation organizations. This dialog facilitates international cooperation in the critical areas of validation studies, independent peer review, and development of harmonized recommendations. ICATM includes member organizations from the European Union, United States, Japan, Canada, and South Korea. Brazil and China have been participating in ICATM since 2015 as observers.
OECD Test Guidelines Programme
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 OECD Mutual Acceptance of Data (MAD) clause ensures that safety data generated using an OECD test guideline will be accepted by all the member countries, avoiding redundant testing.
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.