Upholding the EU's Commitment to 'Animal Testing as a Last Resort' Under REACH Requires a Paradigm Shift in How We Assess Chemical Safety to Close the Gap Between Regulatory Testing and Modern Safety Science.

Animal use for testing chemicals under REACH continues to increase, despite advances in non-animal safety science during the past 15 years. The application of modern science and technology, and the use of 'next generation' weight-of-evidence assessment approaches, are embedded in EU guidance for establishing the safety of cosmetics and foods - and of the ingredients used in these products. However, this is still not the case for the regulation of chemicals.

The future trajectory of adverse outcome pathways: a commentary.

The advent of adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) has provided a new lexicon for description of mechanistic toxicology, and a renewed enthusiasm for exploring modes of action resulting in adverse health and environmental effects. In addition, AOPs have been used successfully as a framework for the design and development of non-animal approaches to toxicity testing. Although the value of AOPs is widely recognised, there remain challenges and opportunities associated with their use in practise.