Three Rs Approaches in Marine Biotoxin Testing

This is the report of the 55th of a series of workshops organised by the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM). The main objective of ECVAM, as defined in 1993 by its Scientific Advisory Committee, is to promote the scientific and regulatory acceptance of alternative methods which are of importance to the biosciences, and which reduce, refine or replace the use of laboratory animals. One of the first priorities set by ECVAM was the implementation of procedures that would enable it to become well informed about the status of non-animal test development and validation, and of opportunities for the possible incorporation of alternative methods into regulatory procedures. It was decided that this would be achieved through a programme of ECVAM workshops, each addressing a specific topic, and at which selected groups of independent international experts would review the current status of various types of in vitro tests and their potential uses, and make recommendations about the best ways forward (1). The workshop on Three Rs Approaches in Marine Biotoxin Testing was held at ECVAM on 24–26 January 2005, with participants from academia, national and international reference laboratories, competent authorities and the European Commission (EC). This ECVAM/DG SANCO Workshop was organised: a) to discuss the current state-ofthe-art with regard to test methods and strategies; b) to consider immediate opportunities to reduce and refine animal use; and c) to examine the possibilities of validation and acceptance of non-animal methods as monitoring tools and reference methods in marine biotoxin testing, reflecting the technical progress that had been made. The outcome of the discussions and the recommendations agreed by the workshop participants are summarised in this report, which is primarily focused on the situation Three Rs Approaches in Marine Biotoxin Testing