NEWS
Metabolomics ‘ viable for grouping ’
A consortium of scientists has published what it calls “ a more robust way of grouping chemicals and using read-across for toxicological data to meet regulatory requirements ”, based on the use of metabolomics . This could greatly reduce animal testing , they added .
“ Instead of only measuring the structural similarity of the chemicals to form groups , we have found that by using metabolomics to measure the biological responses of the chemicals , we can make the grouping and read-across more reliable ,” said Professor Mark Viant of the
University of Birmingham , which led the ‘ Matching ’ consortium .
Also in the consortium were BASF , BASF Metabolome Solutions , ECHA , Imperial College London , Syngenta , Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the US EPA . It was funded via CEFIC ’ s Long-Range Research Initiative ( LRI ).
Six laboratories examined common plasma samples from rats that had been tested with eight chemicals . The teams did not know what the chemicals were . Using metabolomics , they were able to measure thousands of markers like amino acids and lipids , using mass spectrometry , and group tem .
ECHA compiled the results and found that the five labs whose data passed quality control all discovered the same grouping . This is the first time that the use of metabolomics for grouping has been proven to be a reproducible method .
Katherine Santizo from CEFIC- LRI described it as “ a massive step forward ” that shows metabolomics to be a reliable method . It could help rat testing to be phased out and improve toxicity testing , since rats are not a good model for humans and the reproducibility of rat testing is not very good , Viant added .
Create special regulatory impact committee , ACC asks Biden
Chris Jahn , president and CEO of the American Chemistry Council ( ACC ), has written a letter to President Joe Biden requesting him to create an inter-agency policy committee ( IPC ) led by the director of the White House National Economic Council , to coordinate an economic impact analysis of regulations on the chemical industry and the broader economy .
The IPC would require all cabinet departments to evaluate the regulatory proposals by other federal agencies specifically to identify their impact on the ability and speed of administering the programs of those federal departments , especially the new responsibilities associated with implementing the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act , the Inflation Reduction Act , and the CHIPS & Science Act .
“ President Biden needs to pay attention to the regulatory burden being placed on the chemical industry and the impact it has for us to manufacture in America and compete with international rivals , such as China ,” Jahn said . “ The current regulatory environment has led companies not to expand their US operations and could lead to a decrease in hiring , capital spending and investing in R & D .”
A recent survey of ACC members , the letter noted , found that over 75 % said that their regulatory burden has risen over the past year , while 67 %, 57 % and nearly half respectively said that the current regulatory environment threatens their investment in clean energy , domestic semiconductor manufacturing , and healthcare . These are among the Biden administration ’ s top priorities .
Jahn - Regulation is holding down investment
MAR / APR 2024 SPECCHEMONLINE . COM
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