EUchemicals 13d ago

The European Commission has published its roadmap for phasing out animal testing in chemical safety assessments on 1 June 2026, and the first meeting of ECHA’s Collaborative Platform on Alternatives to Animal Testing has now taken place. In this episode of the Safer Chemicals Podcast, we explore what these developments mean in practice for regulators, researchers and industry. Tomasz Sobanski from ECHA explains how new approach methodologies (NAMs) are moving from research into regulatory use, and why the transition requires more than replacing individual tests - it involves rethinking how chemical safety assessment is carried out. The discussion looks at how the EU roadmap is expected to drive implementation across legislation, and how ECHA contributes through scientific and regulatory expertise, international cooperation and the new collaborative platform. The episode also features perspectives from the EPAA, PETA and HEAL on regulatory acceptance, confidence-building, animal welfare, and maintaining a high level of protection for human health and the environment. Useful links • ECHA convenes first meeting of its collaborative platform on alternatives to animal testing - ECHA news, 17 June 2026: https://echa.europa.eu/-/echa-convenes-first-collaborative-platform-on-alternatives-to-animal-testing-meeting • ECHA supports EU roadmap for alternatives to animal testing with new collaborative platform - ECHA news, 2 June 2026: https://echa.europa.eu/-/echa-supports-eu-roadmap-for-alternatives-to-animal-testing-with-new-collaborative-platform • Roadmap towards phasing out animal testing and related materials: https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/sectors/chemicals/reach/roadmap-towards-phasing-out-animal-testing_en • Give us feedback: https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/podcast_feedback ************** Subscribe to our channel: https://bit.ly/321VQgE Subscribe to our Safer Chemicals Podcast: https://echa.europa.eu/podcasts Subscribe to our news: https://echa.europa.eu/subscribe Follow us on: *LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/european-chemicals-agency *X: https://x.com/EU_ECHA *BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/echa.europa.eu *Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EUECHA/ *Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onehealth_eu/ Visit our website: https://echa.europa.eu/ Disclaimer: Views expressed by interviewees do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Chemicals Agency. All content is up to date at the time of publication. Disclaimer: Subtitles are generated by YouTube automatically. The subtitles are made available “as is” without any additional check by ECHA or a third party as to their accuracy or linguistic correctness. ECHA does not guarantee that the subtitles correctly reflect what is being said in the video. The subtitles may be subject to inaccuracies or misrepresentation due to the inherent limitations of the algorithms used. ECHA accepts no liability in connection with the use of the subtitles. You agree to use the subtitles at your own risk and shall not hold ECHA responsible for damage you or any third party may suffer in connection to their use.