EURL ECVAM joins CRACK IT Challenges
New partnerships will support adoption of new approach methodologies and build on previous collaborations to embed the 3Rs in toxicology and safety testing.
The EU Reference Laboratory for alternatives to animal testing (EURL ECVAM) have joined our SensOoChip and CrossDART CRACK IT projects as Challenge Partners, bringing their experience in new approach methodologies* for safety assessment to help bridge the gap between innovation and market adoption.
“Our longstanding collaboration with the NC3Rs is very important to us and we’ve always been great admirers of CRACK IT. The challenge-led format really fosters solution-driven 3Rs innovation and ensures very tight collaboration between developers and end-users. We’re delighted now to have the opportunity to get involved, to support where we can and to learn from the experience.”
Professor Maurice Whelan, Head of EURL ECVAM
“CRACK IT Challenges aim to support the development of cutting-edge technologies that will have 3Rs impacts across the life science sector. Our collaboration with ECVAM ensures that we can directly address the requirements around model qualification and validation to support widespread adoption. We are delighted to be working again with the expertise of Maurice and his team and look forward to another exciting and impactful collaboration.”
Dr Cathy Vickers, Head of Innovation, NC3Rs
About EURL ECVAM
EURL ECVAM, as the European Union Reference Laboratory for Alternatives to Animal Testing, is an integral part of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. ECVAM’s responsibilities include guiding and supporting research on alternatives to animal testing, coordinating validation on non-animal methods within the EU, disseminating information on the 3Rs and facilitating collaboration among stakeholders, including legislators, regulators, industry representatives, test method developers and researchers.
About the Challenges
The SensOoChip Challenge is working to integrate real-time multiparametric monitoring in a connected organ-on-a-chip system to enhance data reproducibility and uptake and the CrossDART Challenge is focused on the development of in vitro, cross species and human-relevant approaches to replace animal use for assessing developmental and reproductive toxicity.
* We use the term new approach methodologies specifically to refer to full and partial replacement approaches for assessing chemical or drug toxicity. Learn more on our page on NAMs terminology.
£1.6M awarded to advance the utility and reproducibility of organ-on-a-chip technologies.
£1M awarded for in vitro and in silico approaches to better predict developmental toxicity in drug development.
