Unit Strategies for Toxicological Assessments

The unit Strategies for Toxicological Assessments primarily deals with the (further) development of toxicological test methods. Work focuses on the establishment of alternative methods on a regulative and experimental level.

On the regulative level, this includes the Chemical Programme run by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), with the test methods programme, the development of test and assessment strategies and the assessment of chemicals.

The unit provides the national focal points in Germany, the national coordinator of the OECD Test Guideline Programme for the area of human health as well as the national contact point for chemicals assessment. Furthermore, the unit is involved in parallel activities on a European level as the test methods and assessment papers developed on OECD level are ordinarily adopted into European processes.

The unit coordinates the national network for the assessment of the regulatory significance and suitability of the alternative methods proposed for validation in line with § 16 g (2) of the German Animal Welfare Act (TierSchG). This PARERE network advises the European Union Reference Laboratory for alternatives to animal testing, EURL ECVAM, in the prioritisation of new methods.

The unit advises the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) and the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL).

In its own laboratories, the unit develops molecular-toxicological methods and cell and tissue culture methods to replace animal testing. The main areas of research here include the toxicodynamic examination of chemical substances and development of assessment strategies.