New Conference to Promote Better Testing Methods

Have you heard of CHANGE? It’s an international collaboration aimed at introducing new methods for testing the effects of chemical substances—methods that involve fewer animal experiments, and which are more efficient. VKM is now organizing a second conference to promote this work.

It’s happening in Oslo, where the first conference was held last year.

Traditionally, testing of chemical substances has been based on animal experiments. But in recent decades, many new testing methods have been developed that do not require the use of animals. Unfortunately, few of these methods have been adopted.

“The systems we use to protect people and the environment from the harmful effects of chemical substances are not well adapted to new methods. We want to help change that,” says Gro Haarklou Mathisen, Senior Advisor and Project Manager at the Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment (VKM).

Faster and Cheaper

Are animal models the best way to test whether a chemical substance is harmful to humans? Or are there other models that are just as good—or better? Many believe that models using human cells are more relevant because they circumvent the differences between animals and humans. The new methods, known as New Approach Methods (NAMs), include cell culture models, “organ-on-a-chip,” “human-on-a-chip” models, and computer simulation methods. These new methods are expected to enable faster and cheaper testing of chemical substances, allow for testing of more substances and mixtures, and ultimately provide better protection for both people and the environment.

New Workshop

CHANGE is driven in part by annual workshops. The first, held in Oslo in June 2024, focused on identifying barriers to the implementation of NAMs. Two articles have been published following that meeting. On June 24, VKM welcomes participants to the second gathering—an international, interdisciplinary, and cross-sectoral group from across the regulatory toxicology system. This time, the focus is on what is needed for data from NAMs to be used in risk assessment and risk management. The third and final meeting will be held in 2026 and will focus on practical measures and recommendations.

The project is supported by the Evidence-Based Toxicology Collaboration (EBTC) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the USA and funded by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

Broad Participation

“So far, more than 100 people from over 60 different institutions in Asia, Australia, Europe, South America, and the USA have been actively involved in CHANGE. They come from institutions working at both national and international levels,” says Tore Tollersrud, Director of VKM.