ECVAM’s Progress in Implementing the 3Rs in Europe

ECVAM is an international reference centre for the development and validation of alternative testing methods aimed at the replacement, reduction or refinement of the use of laboratory animals in the biomedical sciences, with emphasis on toxicological assessments. ECVAM was established by a communication of the European Commission (SEC 91/1794) to the European Parliament and Council referring to Article 7.2 and Article 23 of Directive 86/609/EEC on the protection of animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes. The Directive requires that the Commission and Member States should encourage research into the development and validation of alternative methods that could provide the same level of information as that obtained in experiments using animals, but which involve fewer animals or which entail less painful procedures. ECVAM became operational as a Unit within the EU Joint Research Centre in 1992. ECVAM’s work is focused on the development and evaluation of in vitro methods (e.g. cell and tissue cultures), of computer modelling based on structureactivity relationships and of physiological and biokinetic modelling. Current political needs for ECVAM’s core activities are created by REACH and the 7th amendment to the Cosmetics Directive (Hartung et al., 2003).