NWA Do-ReACT New project for validation of animal-free models
The project Regulatory Embedded Strategies for the Promotion Of NAM Adoption (RESPOND3R) has received a grant of € 3.44 million within the NWA Do-ReACT call for proposals. With this grant, the consortium wants to contribute to the validation and acceptance of animal-free models for the safety assessment of chemical substances.
Contribution to the transition to animal-free innovations
Although many innovative animal-free models have been developed in recent years to assess the safety of chemical substances, they are still only used to a limited extent within legislation and regulations. As a result, animal testing is still the standard for many mandatory safety tests.
The RESPOND3R consortium, led by Prof. Mirjam Luijten and Prof. Anne Kienhuis of RIVM, will work over the next 5 years on the validation of animal-free test methods for the assessment of the safety of chemical substances. The aim is to make these methods suitable for use within law and regulations.
Within the project, advanced cell models are evaluated step by step for reliability, predictive value and applicability for safety assessments. The researchers share their knowledge with national and international regulators. As a result, the methods can become official guidelines for safety testing.
RESPOND3R contributes to better protection of people and the environment, a reduction in animal testing and more confidence in innovative animal-free technologies. Through open collaboration, knowledge sharing and training, the consortium aims to accelerate the acceptance and application of these methods.
Collaboration across disciplines
RESPOND3R brings together expertise from different scientific disciplines and social domains. Toxicologists, social scientists, data scientists, civil society organizations and companies are joining forces. Together, they want to bring animal-free innovations to practice more quickly.
The consortium partners together form a learning community, in which the researchers, end-users, industry, regulators and other stakeholders exchange knowledge, experiences and insights during the project. This continuous interaction not only stimulates scientific progress but also increases the societal impact and the chances of successful implementation of the developed methods.
About the consortium
The consortium consists of: RIVM, Utrecht University, Utrecht University of Applied Sciences, Leiden University, Maastricht University, Wageningen University, Charles River Laboratories, Ombion, Stichting Proefdiervrij, KWR Water B.V., Unilever, InSphero AG, Axion Biosystems, Institute for In vitro Sciences
About NWA Do-ReACT
NWA Do-ReACT is a thematic programme of the Dutch Research Agenda that ZonMw is carrying out in collaboration with NWO. The initiators of this programme are the Ministries of Infrastructure and Water Management (I&W), of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature (LVVN), and of Education, Culture and Science (OC&W).
Read more about NWA Do-ReACT