SAFE: Developing a suite of innovative bioassays to replace in vivo fish studies in chemical safety screening and regulatory environmental risk assessment.

Environmental risk assessment (ERA) is used to evaluate how the exposure of chemical stressors may impact the environment. It is usually assessed across three trophic levels, including fish as the vertebrate species when in vivo testing is required. Global efforts towards the development of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) aim to improve chemical hazard and risk assessment and reduce the reliance on in vivo studies, however these approaches may be limited to pathways that are known to be highly conserved across species. The Adverse Outcome Pathways framework, in combination with novel bioassays, could be used to fill data gaps and support the use of NAMs in ERA.

The aim of the SAFE Challenge is to develop a suite of innovative, scalable bioassays for key adverse outcome pathways to replace in vivo fish studies in chemical safety and screening and regulatory ERA. Phase 2 funding has been awarded to a team led by Dr Stephan Fischer, aQuaTox-Solutions GmbH, to deliver the project: Development of a modular, cell line-based framework for the animal-free prediction of chemical toxicity to fish.

This Challenge is sponsored by AstraZeneca, Bayer AG and Unilever, who will provide in-kind contributions to support the project, and is in partnership with DEFRA, the Health and Safety Executive and the Environment Agency. Co-funding is also provided by DEFRA and the Environment Agency.  

Full details about this CRACK IT Challenge can be found on the Innovation Platform website.