The Role of ECVAM

Established in 1991 by a Commission Communication and in the context of Directive 86/609/EEC, ECVAM was given the mandate to coordinate the EU-level validation of non-animal methods and to promote dialogue between legislators, industries, biomedical scientists, consumer organisations and animal welfare groups, with a view to the development, validation and international recognition of alternative test methods. In 2011, these duties were reaffirmed under Directive 2010/63/EU, which also formalised ECVAM as an EU Reference Laboratory. In the 1990s, ECVAM's scientific activities were focused mainly on the needs of EU cosmetics legislation, with the new EU chemicals legislation, REACH, becoming important in the early 2000s. In the 2010s, additional cross-sector policy areas, such as chemical mixtures and endocrine disruptors, have become important drivers of ECVAM's activities. From its establishment, ECVAM has also played an important role in promoting the uptake of the Three Rs in the biologicals area. ECVAM's training, dissemination and stakeholder engagement activities have also served to promote better regulatory science through alternatives to animal testing.