The European Commission has opened a feedback period on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation (440/2008), which lists the approved methods for testing chemicals. The goal of updating this act is to reduce the amount of animal testing for chemicals.
The revision of the REACH Regulation was announced by the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability adopted on 14 October 2020. The objective of this targeted revision is to ensure that the provisions of the REACH Regulation reflect the ambitions of the Commission on innovation and a high level of protection of health and the environment, as provided for in the Strategy.
The transition away from animal testing is an important opportunity for the in silico medicine community to highlight the potential for in silico testing as an expected first step before conducting either in vitro or in vivo tests.
The Act is being amended to ensure that the list of approved methods is up-to-date with the latest scientific methods and minimises animal testing. The current list of approved methods for testing chemicals does not include in silico tests. The Avicenna Alliance is putting together a response to highlight that in silico methods should be included.
Full information on the consultation can be found here
