ECVAM reports

All report published with the permission of The European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods
ECVAM's main goal, 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 which would enable it to become well-informed about the state-of-the-art of non-animal test development and validation, and the potential for the possible incorporation of alternative tests into regulatory procedures. It was decided that this would be best achieved by the organisation of ECVAM workshops on specific topics, at which small groups of invited 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 practical applicability of hepatocyte cultures in routine testing
  2. In vitro phototoxicity testing
  3. In vitro neurotoxicity testing
  4. Alternatives to animal testing in the quality control of immunobiologicals: current status and future prospects
  5. Practical aspects of the validation of toxicity test procedures
  6. A prevalidation study on in vitro skin corrosivity testing
  7. Development and validation of non-animal tests and testing strategies: the identification of a coordinated response to the challenge and the opportunity presented by the Sixth Amendment to the Cosmetics Directive (76/768/EEC)
  8. The integrated use of alternative approaches for predicting toxic hazard
  9. Safety and efficacy testing of hormones and related products
  10. Nephrotoxicity Testing In Vitro
  11. The Three Rs: The Way Forward
  12. Screening Chemicals for Reproductive Toxicity: the Current Alternatives
  13. Methods for Assessing Percutaneous Absorption
  14. The Use of In Vitro Systems for Evaluating Haematotoxicity
  15. The Use of Biokinetics and In Vitro Methods in Toxicological Risk Evaluation
  16. Acute Toxicity Testing In Vitro and the Classification and Labelling of Chemicals
  17. Alternatives to the Animal Testing of Medical Devices
  18. In Vitro Tests for Respiratory Toxicity
  19. Alternative Methods for Skin Sensitation Testing
  20. The Use of Tissue Slices for Pharmacotoxicology Studies
  21. The Production of Avian (Egg Yolk) Antibodies - IgY
  22. Pharmacokinetics in Early Drug Research
  23. Monoclonal Antibody Production
  24. The Development and Validation of Expert Systems for Predicting Toxicity
  25. Current Status and Future Developments of Databases on Alternative Methods
  26. Genetically Engineered Cell Lines: Characterisation and Applications in Toxicity Testing
  27. Issues Relating to the Release of Proprietary Information and Data for Use in the Validation of Alternative Methods
  28. The Use of Transgenic Animals in the European Union
  29. Reducing the Use of Laboratory Animals in Biomedical Research: Problems and Possible Solutions
  30. Non-animal Tests for Evaluating the Toxicity of Solid Xenobiotics
  31. Validation of Alternative Methods for the Potency Testing of Vaccines
  32. The Availability of Human Tissue for Biomedical Research
  33. Alternatives to the Use of Animals in Higher Education
  34. Eye Irritation Testing: the Way Forward
  35. The Production of Polyclonal Antibodies in Laboratory Animals
  36. The Potential Use of Non-Invasive Methods in the Safety Assessment of Cosmetic Products
  37. The Principles of Good Laboratory Practice: Application to In Vitro Toxicology Studies
  38. The Use of Human Keratinocytes and Human Skin Models for Predicting Skin Irritation
  39. Cell Transformation Assays as Predictors of Human Carcinogenicity
  40. Biomarkers as Predictive Tools in Toxicity Testing
  41. Three Rs Approaches in the Production and Quality Control of Avian Vaccines
  42. The Second ECVAM Workshop on Phototoxicity Testing