Nonanimal Tests Prominent on Society of Toxicology Meeting Agenda
Alternatives to Animal Testing, Experimentation and Dissection - An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM

Physicians Committee
April 2015

Adverse Outcome Pathways (AOPs) use existing data on how a chemical or toxin affects biological systems and organizes it into a pathway to predict whether the chemical or similar chemicals will cause further damage. This can eliminate the need for animal testing.

More than 6,500 toxicologists from 50 countries learned about the latest nonanimal test methods at the Society of Toxicology’s 54th Annual Meeting in March. Two Physicians Committee presentations recommended Adverse Outcome Pathways as a method to reduce animal testing and improve human safety.

adverse outcome pathways

Kristie Sullivan, M.P.H., Physicians Committee director of regulatory testing issues, presented a poster titled “Adverse Outcome Pathway for Sensitization of the Respiratory Tract: Network Thinking Meets Regulatory Utility,” for which she was the lead author.

AOPs use existing data on how a chemical or toxin affects biological systems and organizes it into a pathway to predict whether the chemical or similar chemicals will cause further damage. This can eliminate the need for animal testing.

Sullivan was also a panelist for “AOPs 201: A Seminar on Development, Recording, and Use of Adverse Outcome Pathways,” which was co-sponsored by the Physicians Committee and the Human Toxicology Project Consortium. Representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Army, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the University of Ottawa also presented.

The presentation updated attendees on progress since “AOPs 101,” a seminar presented at last year’s Society of Toxicology. The presentation also gave recommendations on the tools and guidance available to help develop and record AOPs, as well as case studies of AOPs in various stages of development.

Last year, the Physicians Committee and NIH co-sponsored an AOP workshop where more than 500 experts learned about how AOPs support the development of nonanimal test methods.


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