Here - Stiftung Forschung 3R

1INTRODUCTION
It is the aim of the AXLR8 project to lay the groundwork for a
transition in toxicology toward a more pathway-based in vitro
and computational approach through enhanced networking
and collaboration among scientists, regulators and other key
stakeholders at European and international levels.
To date almost € 140 million in funding has been provided under the 6 th and 7 th EU
Framework Programmes to advance the development and validation of 3Rs methods
and testing strategies for regulatory purposes (Table 1). These funding activities have
been ‘policy-driven’ by Directive 86/609/EEC for the protection of animals used for
experimental and other scientific purposes, as well as the 7th Amendment of the EU
Cosmetics Directive, and the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of
Chemicals (REACH) regulation—all of which provide explicit legislative mandates to
replace regulatory toxicity testing in animals with non-animal approaches. To achieve
this goal, a variety of large-scale ‘integrated projects’ have been funded by DG R&I, in
which scientists from academia, industry and government collaborate toward animal
replacement on the level of classical toxicological endpoints such as acute and repeated
dose toxicity. In 2011, in a joint venture between DG R&I and the European Cosmetics
Association (COLIPA), € 50 million was raised for the ‘replacement of in vivo repeated
dose systemic toxicity testing’ with the long-term target of ‘safety evaluation ultimately
replacing animal testing’ (SEURAT).
Similar funding programmes have been launched by 3Rs centres in several EU Member
States and also in Japan, the United States, and elsewhere. Monitoring the scope
INTRODUCTION
Progress Report 2011 & AXLR8-2 Workshop Report
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