OECD Releases 2024 Test Guideline Programme Updates

Written by ICAPO secretariat Eryn Slankster-Schmierer, PhD and reviewed by members of ICAPO. Published on June 25, 2024.

On June 25, 2024, the OECD released updates from the 36th meeting of the Working Group of the National Coordinators of the Test Guidelines Programme (WNT) held in April 2024.

Among these updates, ICAPO is pleased to see the addition of a new Integrated Approach to Testing and Assessment for phototoxicity testing. Additionally, Test Guideline (TG) 442D was updated to include the EpiSensA, expanding chemical coverage of the TG and adding to the repertoire of OECD-endorsed in vitro assays available to assess skin sensitization without the use of animals.

The Guidance Document (GD) 263 on Integrated Approaches to Testing and Assessment (IATA) for Serious Eye Damage and Eye Irritation was previously updated in 2019. Since its update, TG 467 on Defined Approaches for Serious Eye Damage and Eye Irritation and TG 492B on Reconstructed Human Cornea-like Epithelium (RHCE) Test Method for Eye Hazard Identification were adopted as the first TGs to predict all three UN GHS categories for eye hazard. This year, ICAPO members (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and PETA Science Consortium International) responded to an OECD call for funding to update GD 263 with these NAMs, resulting in a comprehensive Guidance Document that provides a clear, up-to-date path to eye hazard assessment without animal experimentation.

ICAPO members continue to work on assisting NAMs through the test guideline program in new and on-going projects. For a list of non-animal test guidelines, please visit www.icapo.org/test-guidelines. You can find more information on all of the OECD’s Test Guideline updates here.

Test Guideline (TG) Updates

Test No. 442D: In Vitro Skin Sensitisation was updated to include the EpiSensA assay, expanding the chemical testing capabilities within the guideline
Test No. 496: In vitro Macromolecular Test Method for Identifying Chemicals Inducing Serious Eye Damage and Chemicals Not Requiring Classification for Eye Irritation or Serious Eye Damage was updated to include the Optisafe test method
Test No. 467: Defined Approaches for Serious Eye Damage and Eye Irritation was modified, expanding guidance to include the assessment of solids

Guidance Document Updates

Guidance Document 263 on IATA for eye irritation updates were approved to include up-to-date in vitro methods (described above)
A new Guidance Document on IATA for phototoxicity testing was approved