OECD Test Guideline Proposals
In October 2007, ICCVAM forwarded its first recommendations for the use of in vitro methods for ocular safety testing to Federal agencies.
ICCVAM recommended that two methods, the Bovine Corneal Opacity and Permeability (BCOP) test method and the Isolated Chicken Eye (ICE) test method,
can be used in a tiered testing strategy to determine ocular hazards, with specific limitations
for certain chemical classes and/or physical properties. The ICCVAM recommendations were accepted by the Federal agencies,
and the two in vitro test methods may now be used
instead of conventional tests for certain regulatory testing purposes.
To maximize the potential impact of these approved
test methods on reducing animal use,
ICCVAM will now seek adoption of these test methods internationally by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD). Adoption of these methods by OECD will allow them to be used in the other 29 OECD member countries,
which include Japan, Canada and most countries in the European Union. There is considerable interest in these methods in Europe
due to the impending 2009 ban by the EU on the use of animals for testing cosmetic ingredients and the EU chemicals
legislation, REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical substances), which may require
testing of thousands of existing chemicals.
NICEATM and the ICCVAM Ocular Toxicity Working Group prepared draft OECD Test Guidelines for the BCOP and ICE
test methods. The draft Test Guidelines were forwarded to the U.S. National Coordinator to the OECD Test Guidelines Programme in August
2008. The U.S. National Coordinator
will submit them to OECD for consideration at the National Coordinators meeting in March 2009.
NIH Press Release (June 23, 2008):
Newly Approved Ocular Safety Methods Reduce Animal Testing [PDF]
View press release on NIH Website
View more
information about the OECD Test Guidelines Programme (on OECD website)
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