Non-animal Methods for Toxicokinetics: Meeting New Paradigms in Toxicology

Description and Aim

Despite increasing scientific efforts to develop alternative methods for toxicity testing, the number of animal tests for regulatory human safety evaluations, and thus the number of animals used, are not declining concomitantly. Insight in the fate of chemicals in the human body (i.e. kinetics) can resolve one of the critical challenges in the development of alternative methods, providing means to translate in vitro toxic effect concentrations into corresponding effect levels in humans. In addition, kinetic data facilitate adequate design of in vitro toxicity tests, including the application of physiological relevant concentrations and providing information on important metabolites to be accounted for. Given this crucial role in new toxicity testing strategies, there is an urgent need for implementation of non-animal approaches for kinetics, beyond proof-of-concept. The goal of this workshop is to bring together experts and stakeholders from science, industry, and regulation, including new generation toxicologists, to find ways to move the field of non-animal methods for kinetic away from expert efforts to common practise within toxicological research and regulatory safety evaluations. The collaborative environment of the Lorentz Centre will be used to obtain ground-breaking agreements on actions towards the integration of non-animal kinetic tools, including novel organ-on-a-chip methods, stem cell methods, and PBK modelling, in new toxicity testing strategies.