The Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing in the USA and Europe

Abstract

The Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT) was founded in 1981. CAAT‒USA is part of the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, now with a European branch (CAAT‒Europe), located since 2010 at the University of Konstanz, Germany. This transatlantic organisation, with ties to all parts of the world, promotes humane science by supporting the creation, development, validation and use of alternatives to animals in research, product safety testing and education. CAAT seeks to effect change by working with scientists in industry, government and academia, to find new ways to replace animals with non-animal methods, reduce the numbers of animals necessary or refine methods to make them less painful or stressful to the animals involved. This is promoted by regular workshops organised by its transatlantic think tank for toxicology (t4).CAAT was initially funded by the US Cosmetic, Toiletries, and Fragrance Association (CTFA) with a $1M grant, but has since been supported by more than 50 companies and trade associations from various sectors, and philanthropic and public research funding. Over almost four decades, it expanded to all areas of animal use in industry, regulation and academia. Its work spans from proof-of-principle research into new alternatives funded competitively by various research funding bodies, to translational work of multi-stakeholder consensus processes, education and communication, as well as policy programmes, informing especially the US and EU legislative processes. Current focus areas with dedicated programmes include Microphysiological Systems, Pathway-based Toxicology (The Human Toxome), Good Cell Culture Practice, Evidence-based Toxicology, Green Toxicology, Refinement, in silico approaches, including Read-Across, and Thresholds of Toxicological Concern, as well as Integrated Testing Strategies.