[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 137 (Thursday, July 16, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43249-43250]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-15341]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of 
Alternative Methods Biennial Progress Report: 2018-2019; Availability 
of Report

AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The National Toxicology Program (NTP) Interagency Center for 
the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods (NICEATM) announces 
availability of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the 
Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM) Biennial Progress Report: 
2018-2019. This report, prepared in accordance with requirements of the 
ICCVAM Authorization Act of 2000, describes activities and 
accomplishments from January 2018 through December 2019.

ADDRESSES: The report is available at http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/iccvamreport/2019/index.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Nicole Kleinstreuer, Acting 
Director, NICEATM, Division of NTP, NIEHS, P.O. Box 12233, K2-17, 
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709. Phone: 984-287-3150, Email: 
[email protected]. Hand Deliver/Courier address: 530 Davis 
Drive, Room K2032, Morrisville, NC 27560.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Background: The ICCVAM Authorization Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 285l-
3), established ICCVAM as a permanent interagency committee of the 
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) under 
NICEATM. ICCVAM's mission is to facilitate development, validation, and 
regulatory acceptance of new and revised regulatory test methods that 
reduce, refine, or replace the use of animals in testing while 
maintaining and promoting scientific quality and the protection of 
human health, animal health, and the environment.
    A provision of the ICCVAM Authorization Act states that ICCVAM 
shall prepare ``reports to be made available to the public on its 
progress under this Act.'' The tenth ICCVAM biennial progress report 
describing ICCVAM activities and accomplishments from January 2018 
through December 2019 is now available.
    Summary of Report Contents: Key ICCVAM, ICCVAM agency, and NICEATM 
accomplishments summarized in the report include:
     Publication in January 2018 of a strategic roadmap for 
incorporating new approaches into safety testing of chemicals and 
medical products in the United States, and progress toward goals 
described in the strategic roadmap.
     Development of the Collaborative Acute Toxicity Modeling 
Suite, an online resource for screening organic chemicals for acute 
oral toxicity, and expansion of NICEATM's Integrated Chemical 
Environment, which provides curated data and tools for safety 
assessment of chemicals.
     Initiatives by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to 
reduce animal use: A draft science policy to reduce animal use for skin 
sensitization testing for pesticide registration, a plan to reduce 
vertebrate animal testing for chemical safety information required 
under the Toxic Substances Control Act, and an agency-wide directive to 
reduce mammal study requests and funding 30% by 2025 and completely 
eliminating them by 2035.
     Development of a strategic roadmap by the Department of 
Defense to help its laboratories better define their chemical 
assessment needs and collaborate on development or refinement of 
appropriate non-animal approaches for testing.
     Implementation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of 
its predictive toxicity roadmap for integrating predictive toxicology 
methods into safety and risk assessments.
    Availability of Report: The report is available at http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/iccvamreport/2019/index.html. Links to this report 
and all past ICCVAM annual and biennial reports are available at http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/iccvam-bien.
    Background Information on ICCVAM and NICEATM: ICCVAM is an 
interagency committee composed of representatives from 16 federal 
regulatory and research agencies that require, use, generate, or 
disseminate toxicological and safety testing information. ICCVAM 
conducts technical evaluations of new, revised, and alternative safety 
testing methods and integrated testing strategies with regulatory 
applicability and promotes the scientific validation and regulatory 
acceptance of testing methods that more accurately assess the safety 
and hazards of chemicals and products and replace, reduce, or refine 
(enhance animal well-being and lessen or avoid pain and distress) 
animal use.
    The ICCVAM Authorization Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 285l-3) establishes 
ICCVAM as a permanent interagency committee of NIEHS and provides the 
authority for ICCVAM involvement in activities relevant to the 
development of alternative test methods. Additional information about 
ICCVAM can be found at http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/iccvam.
    NICEATM administers ICCVAM, provides scientific and operational 
support for ICCVAM-related activities, and conducts and publishes 
analyses and evaluations of data from new, revised, and alternative 
testing approaches. NICEATM and ICCVAM work collaboratively to evaluate 
new and improved testing approaches applicable to the needs of U.S. 
Federal agencies. NICEATM and ICCVAM welcome the public nomination of 
new, revised, and alternative testing approaches for validation studies 
and technical evaluations. Additional information about NICEATM can be 
found at http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/niceatm.


[[Page 43250]]


    Dated: July 7, 2020.
Brian R. Berridge,
Associate Director, National Toxicology Program.
[FR Doc. 2020-15341 Filed 7-15-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P