The European Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing (EPAA) aims to make significant progress in refining, reducing and replacing animal use (the ‘3Rs’) in the areas of regulatory testing. 

The Partnership – an unprecedented collaboration between the European Commission and industry – has agreed 21 key activities that will be carried out over the next five years.  These range from assimilating best research practice from across seven industry sectors, to the evaluation of the regulatory drivers for animal testing, and ultimately the validation and acceptance of alternative approaches to safety testing.

The overall programme is co-ordinated by the Partnership’s steering committee co-chaired by Georgette Lalis from the European Commission and Charles Laroche representing European industry.

The action programme is divided into the following five principal themes which are interlinked and dependent upon one another:

• Mapping of past and current 3R activities to better inform the planning and prioritisation of subsequent actions
• Prioritisation, promotion and implementation of future research based on the application of the 3Rs
• Identification, dissemination and implementation of best practice in the use of the 3Rs
• Implementation of the 3Rs in regulation and decision making
• Validation and acceptance based on the 3Rs

• First Annual Progress Report (December 2006)
• Press release - Unprecedented collaboration accelerates work to reduce, refine and replace animal testing for safety assessment (18 December 2006)
• Press release - Animal Testing: new action programme to accelerate research into alternative approaches (21 June 2006)