Bureau REACH prioritises reducing the use of animals in testing, a key aspect of assessing the safety of chemicals and materials for both humans and the environment. New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) offer promising alternatives to traditional animal testing.
Achieving transparent international approval through the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is crucial for enabling the use of NAMs. OECD validation is a pivotal step in this process, as it leads to the inclusion of NAMs as testing guidelines. Once validated, these guidelines are recognised by all OECD member countries.
Bureau REACH is actively advocating for the validation of NAMs both nationally and internationally. The objective is to integrate NAMs into safety assessments of chemicals, thereby enhancing confidence in these innovative testing methods.