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The NTP Interagency Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods (NICEATM)
and the
Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM)
Advancing Public Health and Animal Welfare |
View NICEATM-ICCVAM news updates
ICCVAM is an interagency committee of the U.S. Government, with members representing 15 U.S.
Federal
regulatory and research agencies that use, generate, or disseminate toxicological information
used to determine the safety or potential adverse health effects of chemicals and products to which
workers and consumers may be exposed.
Read the January 2010 editorial about NICEATM and ICCVAM by NIEHS/NTP Director Dr. Linda Birnbaum and NICEATM
Director Dr. William Stokes in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives [PDF]
View other NICEATM-ICCVAM journal articles and press releases
ICCVAM was formally established by law with signing of the ICCVAM Authorization Act of
2000 (42 U.S.C. 285l-3). The committee was originally organized by NIEHS in 1997 in collaboration with the other 14
Federal agencies.
Read the ICCVAM Authorization Act of 2000 [PDF]
ICCVAM coordinates interagency technical reviews of new and revised safety testing
methods with regulatory applicability, including alternative test methods that may reduce, refine,
or replace the use of animals in order to advance animal welfare while ensuring human health and
safety. ICCVAM also coordinates cross-agency issues relating to development, validation, acceptance, and national and
international harmonization of new, modified, and alternative toxicological test methods.
Since 1998, ICCVAM has contributed to the national and international regulatory acceptance of 44
alternative safety-testing methods, including 25 that do not use live animals.
View summary of regulatory acceptance of alternative toxicological methods
NICEATM administers ICCVAM and provides scientific and operational support for ICCVAM-related activities.
NICEATM works closely with ICCVAM to carry out test method evaluations,
organize peer reviews and workshops, and communicate with ICCVAM stakeholders.
NICEATM also conducts independent validation studies for new proposed safety
testing methods to characterize their usefulness and limitations for regulatory applications.
View current status of ongoing NICEATM-ICCVAM test method
validation studies and evaluation projects
ICCVAM depends on stakeholders with appropriate capabilities and resources to carry out
alternative test method research, development, and validation studies, and to submit the results to
ICCVAM for evaluation. Following comprehensive test method evaluations, ICCVAM develops
recommendations on scientific validity of new and modified test methods, and forwards these to
regulatory agencies for acceptance decisions as required by law.
The ICCVAM evaluation process incorporates a high level of transparency. Our process is designed to provide
opportunities and options for stakeholder involvement, including submission of public comments
and public participation in peer review and advisory committee meetings. Please contact
NICEATM for more information.
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