As the European Commission prepares to launch its ‘Roadmap Towards Phasing Out Animal Testing for Chemical Safety Assessments”, Cefic joins the 20th anniversary of the European Partnership for Alternative Approaches (EPAA), sharing insights on what is needed to accelerate the transition to non-animal methods.
Announced in 2023, the Roadmap serves as a guiding plan to accelerate the replacement, reduction, and refinement of animal testing in regulatory chemical safety assessments. Cefic has fully supported the roadmap and actively contributed to its development, notably through its role in EPAA, where Cefic Senior Advisor, Katia Lacasse, serves as Vice Chair.
During an EPAA panel discussion ‘From Roadmap to Roadtrip: The Role of Stakeholders in Supporting the Commission Roadmap’ Katia shared Cefic’s perspective on how to accelerate the transition to non-animal methods, alongside the European Commission’s DG GROW, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Eurogroup for Animals, the Fraunhofer Institute, and Merck.
“To really accelerate the shift to non-animal methods, we need to build confidence — through joint validation, real-world experience, and a strong framework for collaboration and shared learning. Regulators, industry, and researchers must work together to identify and remove regulatory bottlenecks, and to ensure these innovative approaches can be applied reliably in practice.”
Katia Lacasse, Senior Advisor, Cefic & Vice-Chair, EPAA
Katia outlined four actions to enable this transition:
- As part of the Commission’s roadmap, establish a long-term vision for a new hazard and safety paradigm.
- Establish platforms and processes to gain experience and apply readily-available and robust New Approach Methodologies (NAMs).
- Secure an internationally-harmonised application of NAM methodologies and Mutual Acceptance of Data (MAD).
- Enhance the use and availability of exposure information for registered substances.
As EPAA marks two decades of partnership, Cefic reaffirms its support to Europe’s transition to animal-free safety assessment, while keeping its high standards on human health and environmental protection.