WC8 -- Together it is Possible

[Gilly Griffin]

Following the highly successful seventh World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences (WC7) held in Rome this year, preparations are underway for the next Congress – WC8, which will be held in Montréal, Canada from August 21-25, 2011, and will be hosted by the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC) http://www.ccac.ca.

We, Co-chairs Clément Gauthier, (CCAC) and Herman Koëter (Orange House Partnership), along with the Chair of the Program Committee, Gilly Griffin (CCAC) invite members of the AltTox community to mark their calendars for what we see as being an exciting addition to the WC series. More importantly, we invite you to actively participate now in the program planning process.  

We are currently in the early planning stages.  During this early stage, we would like to hear from as many potential participants as possible, to gather suggestions for program topics.  Our aim is to prepare a strong scientific program that provides room for discussion of new approaches and new technologies as well as the policy tools needed to ensure their implementation.  While all suggestions are welcome, we invite the AltTox community specifically to consider topics within the general program area: Safety Testing, Validation and Risk Assessment.  We encourage you to be bold and consider where the science of alternatives will be taking us in the next 2 years – within the WC8 Theme “The Three Rs – Together it is Possible.

Gilly Griffin CCAC, Guidelines and Three Rs Programs Director

[Martin Stephens]

During this early stage, we would like to hear from as many potential participants as possible, to gather suggestions for program topics.  Our aim is to prepare a strong scientific program that provides room for discussion of new approaches and new technologies as well as the policy tools needed to ensure their implementation.  While all suggestions are welcome, we invite the AltTox community specifically to consider topics within the general program area: Safety Testing, Validation and Risk Assessment.  We encourage you to be bold and consider where the science of alternatives will be taking us in the next 2 years – within the WC8 Theme “The Three Rs – Together it is Possible.

Dear Gilly,

Thank you for soliciting program ideas from the AltTox community.  I would encourage anyone with suggestions to post them on AltTox as replies to Gilly's message rather than send them to Gilly privately.

I like the theme of "Together it is Possible" especially in light of your emphasis on scientific approaches and technologies together with the necessary policy tools to make it happen. This echos AltTox's theme of science and policy together, and brings in the notion of the diversity of stakeholders in this arena: scientists (in academia, government, etc.), regulators, NGOs, etc.

I think it will be critical to provide an update on where we are with "21st century toxicology," which figured prominently at WC7.  I also like your notion of emerging science and where that might take us in the next 1-2 years.  In this regard, the National Academy of Sciences is hosting a series of workshops on emerging sciences and their potential application to environmental health, including toxicology.  We've been providing brief summaries of these workshops in the "In the Spotlight" articles linked from the AltTox homepage.

Off-topic from AltTox but important to the larger push for the 3Rs: it would be great if we could start a discussion at WC8 as to whether any of the emerging sciences and approaches could lead to dramatic breakthroughs in replacement in the area of biomedical research, akin to the promise of the NRC 2007 report for replacement in the area of toxicity testing.  Biomedical research is where the bulk of the animals are used.

Regards,
Marty

[William Mundy]

I attended the 7th World Congress and was pleased to see the amount of good science that was presented through both platform and poster formats. I hope the focus on sound science continues.

One area that may deserve further discussion is the different drivers that are moving the use of alternative methods forward in the US and Europe. In the US the recent "Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century" report by the US National Academy of Sciences suggests the use of in vitro models (based on human cells) and high throughput technologies to understand the pathways and mechanisms that result in toxicity. This may result in the generation of large amounts of data on molecular and cellular endpoints using methods that may not be "validated". In Europe, legislation is requiring toxicity testing without using animals. This requires the development of new methods that are "validated" alternatives for existing toxicity tests. How will data derived from one set of studies inform the other?

[Horst Spielmann]

Dear Gilly, Marty and Bill,

Taking into account that the US program "Tox 21" played a major role at WC7 in  Rome this summer and that the main drivers of this project are closely linked to the Alternatives Congress Trust (ACT), which is sponsoring the world congresses on alternatives, you can be assured that at WC8 molecular toxicology will be even more in focus in 2011 in Montreal.

As far as exchanging results developed in the US Tox 21 program and in the EU FP6/FP7 program on alternatives is concerend, starting on january 1, 2010 a new EU FP7 coordinated action program "AXLR8" (=accelerate) will just focus on that topic. The joint project will be managed by Troy Seildle on behalf of HSI (Humane Society International UK), Greet Schoeters from VITO (Flemish Inst. of Toxicology in Belgium) and myself on behalf of the Free University Berlin, Germany). AXLR8 is aimed at accelerating the acceptance of new in vitro tox test into regulatory testing.

One of the tasks of AXLR8 is to organize and convene annual scientific workshops to bring together scientific coordinators and/or work package leaders from FP6/FP7 EU-funded health projects, members of the AXLR8 Scientific Panel, which includes major players of the Tox 21 program, and other selected experts to discuss the progress of ongoing actions, identify knowledge gaps, and recommend strategic priorities for future EU funding calls.

Upon the start of AXLR8 we will immeditely begin planning the annual workshops on information exchange on advanced toxicology between the US and Europe.
AXLR8 will be closely linked to the AltTox website to ensure transparancy and enhance the echaneg of information.

Horst Spielmann

 

[Grace Patlewicz]

I have not had the good fortune to attend the last World Congress..but in terms of discussions I would like to hear more on at the next World Congress, here are a few thoughts to add to the mix.

1) How are in silico approaches ((Q)SARs, chemical categories) being practically applied - what have been the success stories? for the purposes of meeting hazard characterisation or risk assessment needs under REACH, 7th Amendment to the Cosmetics Directive etc What remain the key challenges?

2) What impact has the 7th Amendment had in real terms so far? Has innovation for companies been stifled? Are we seeing a mindset shift in the acceptance of new approaches? Are Integrated Testing Strategies proving successful/useful? What are or have been the challenges and how are these being addressed? What does the 2013 horizon look like?

3) What have been the outcomes to date of programmes such as Toxcast - are the approaches/insights being practically applied? What have been the lessons/insights?

4)Since the announcement of the "VAMs" (e.g. ICCVAM,ECVAM etc) becoming more aligned - what has been the impact/change in how alternatives are being proposed, discussed, evaluated..will we see a streamlined or more harmonised approach that will expediate the validation and acceptance of new in vitro approaches?

5)As we live in a globalised economy - where the onus might be shifting from labs offering testing facilities in the traditional economies (EU, US etc) to the newer economies (India, China etc) - what impact is this having on the field of alternatives? Are we seeing a shift in offerings in terms of the new and emerging technologies..

[Gilly Griffin]

Thank you for the responses so far:

As outlined by Horst, the AXLR8 initiative, with its focus on information exchange on advanced toxicology between the US and Europe, matches well with the Theme of WC8 “The Three Rs - Together it is Possible”.

Like Bill, I was pleased to see the amount of good science that was presented through both platform and poster formats at WC7. I’m certain that the "yet to be formed" program committee will endeavour to ensure that the focus on sound science continues at WC8.

Thinking about where AXLR8 might be by WC8, and Bill’s plea to continue to focus on sound science, prompts me to ask the following question to the Alttox community.

Should WC8 sessions focus on providing an update of initiatives such as AXLR8, or should sessions be comprised of “scientific papers”, where new results or findings are reported?  If  both are deemed to be valuable, what should the mix look like, and how could this be achieved?

Gilly Griffin

[Gilly Griffin]

The website of the eighth World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences is now live at http://www.wc8.ccac.ca.

Please visit often as additional information will be added in the coming months.

We look forward to seeing Alttox Forum members in Montréal, Canada from August 21-25, 2011.

[Sherry Ward]

8th World Congress Registration and Abstract Submission Now Open

Dr. Gilly Griffin, Guidelines and Three Rs Programs Director for the Canadian Council on Animal Care and Chair of the 8th World Congress Scientific Program Committee, has provided the following information regarding the upcoming 8th World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences.

The 8th World Congress (WC8) will take place in historic Montreal from August 21-25, 2011, hosted by the Canadian Council on Animal Care. Participants can start planning their stay by visiting the General Information of the WC8 website: http://www.wc8.ccac.ca/pages/general.

Registration (http://www.wc8.ccac.ca/pages/registration_and_payment) and abstract submission (http://www.wc8.ccac.ca/pages/call_for_papers) for the Congress is now open on the website.  

The Preliminary Scientific Program (http://www.wc8.ccac.ca/programs) is diverse, spanning from toxicity testing to animal welfare policy to issues unique to farm animal and wildlife research, and is divided into five Themes.
Theme I: Safety and efficacy testing of chemicals, pharmaceuticals and biologicals
Theme II: Policy/law on animal use, public engagement and ethical review
Theme III: Incorporation of the Three Rs in education and training
Theme IV: Animal welfare for Refinement and high quality science
Theme V: Replacement and Reduction in basic research

The deadline for submission of an abstract for inclusion in one of the scientific sessions is April 10, 2010.

The Congress will also feature satellite meetings, multimedia demonstrations, point-counterpoint debates and reporting sessions on the latest developments in the field.

Participants will also note that single day registration is available and the final scientific program will feature days that are geared towards a specific topic or special interest group.  For instance, the first day of the Congress will highlight topics of particular interest to members of institutional animal care committees (otherwise known as IACUCs or animal ethics committees).

[Mara Long]

The 8th World Congress (WC8) will take place in historic Montreal from August 21-25, 2011, hosted by the Canadian Council on Animal Care. Abstracts are being accepted for presentation under the following five Themes:

Theme I:   Safety & efficacy testing of chemicals, pharmaceuticals & biologicals

Theme II:    Policy/law on animal use, public engagement & ethics review

Theme III:   Incorporation of the Three Rs in Education & Training

Theme IV:   Animal Welfare for Refinement & High Quality Science

Theme V:   Replacement & Reduction in Basic Research

To register and submit your abstract, visit our registration page at http://www.wc8.ccac.ca/pages/registration_and_payment.

The World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences is the longest running series of international scientific conferences dedicated to the replacement, reduction, and refinement (Three Rs) of animal use in research and safety testing. Since 1993, these conferences have been held every 2-3 years, and have attracted a large international group of stakeholders and leading experts interested in scientific approaches to the development and use of methods that replace, reduce, and/or refine animal-based laboratory methods.

We look forward to seeing you in Montréal!

Gilly Griffin, PhD
Chair, Scientific Program Committee,WC8