In June 2007, the National Academy of Science (NAS) unveiled a visionary report, “Toxicity Testing and Assessment in the Twenty-first Century: A Vision and a Strategy.” This document heralded a major transformation in regulatory toxicity testing, mirroring CAAT’s principles. The report advocated a shift from traditional whole-animal-based testing towards methods predominantly based on in vitro techniques, human cell cultures, in silico biokinetic modeling, and mechanisms of toxicity understood through systems biology.

In essence, the NAS report served as a roadmap for the future, marking a departure from the existing testing paradigm. It endorsed the use of high-throughput, in vitro methods and in silico modeling techniques focused more on human biology than on animal models.

In a significant advancement towards US development of alternative methodologies, on February 14, 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Toxicity Program (NTP), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU). The MOU aimed to develop and implement new high-throughput, in vitro methods for testing chemicals and drugs, reflecting both the best and most humane science. Based on the recommendations of the NAS report, the MOU paved the way for comprehensive data collection in line with the NAS report.

To expedite the implementation of the NAS report’s recommendations, CAAT and the Doerenkamp-Zbinden Foundation (DZF) collaborated to establish the Transatlantic Think Tank for Toxicology (t4). Comprising leaders from the University of Konstanz (Prof. Marcel Leist), Utrecht University (Prof. Bas Blaauboer), and Johns Hopkins University (Drs. Hartung and Goldberg), the t4 ambassadors prepare and commission detailed analyses of toxicological challenges. Through a series of workshops, reports, and review papers, t4 aims to realize the innovative approaches outlined in the NAS report.

Our ongoing t4 initiatives and published reports further our commitment to the advancement of alternative toxicity testing methods:

• An expert consortium review of the EC-commissioned report ³Alternative
  (Non-Animal) Methods for Cosmetics Testing: Current Status and Future
  Prospects ­ 2010²
•  t⁴ Workshop Report: Nanotoxicology: The End of the Beginning ­ Signs on
  the Roadmap to a Strategy for Assuring the Safe Application and Use of
  Nanomaterials (ALTEX)