Impact Funding Resources
The aim of this Challenge is to develop new approach methodologies (NAMs) to assess acute and chronic avian toxicity for chemical screening and environmental risk assessment. Avian toxicity studies are carried out for internal chemical screening and to meet regulatory requirements for the registration of new pesticides. Large numbers of birds are used and there is a significant unmet need to develop alternative approaches. This is a two-phase Challenge with funding for up to three years. • Phase 1: nine months • Phase 2: up to three years (subject to successful completion of Phase 1)
End Date04 Nov 2024 Funding AmountPhase1 upto GBP 200k / Phas2 upto GBP 1.5mn Funding Resource TypeGrant
Funding ProviderNational Centre for the Replacement,Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs)
Grant
National Centre for the Replacement,Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs)
Avian toxicity studies are carried out for internal chemical screening and to meet regulatory requirements for the registration of new pesticides. Large numbers of birds are used and there is a significant unmet need to develop alternative approaches.
This is a two-phase Challenge with funding for up to three years.
• Phase 1: nine months
• Phase 2: up to three years (subject to successful completion of Phase 1)
The aim of this Challenge is to develop a suite of NAMs for acute and chronic toxicity that can be:
• Used to screen candidate chemicals in early development.
• Integrated into an IATA to enable regulatory testing with fewer animals in the short-term and in the longer term, lay the foundations for moving away from in vivo avian studies for environmental risk assessment purposes.
The Challenge will require the integration of knowledge and experience within the in silico, in vitro, mechanistic toxicology and adverse outcome pathway (AOP) areas, alongside existing data and strategies.
Approaches that are in scope:
• In silico – QSARs, exposure and effects modelling (e.g. dynamic energy budget models and general unified threshold models for survival).
• In vitro – cell lines and sub-cellular fractions are preferred, and these should be from species used in regulatory tests (bobwhite quail and mallard duck for chronic toxicity; bobwhite quail and canary or zebra finch for acute toxicity), but other species would be accepted if they can be shown to be predictive. Primary cells may be considered if there are no cell line alternatives.
• Embryo (in ovo) – from species used in regulatory tests. Embryo studies should not involve protected life stages. Avian protected life stages are defined under UK Home Office guidance and the EU Directive 2010/63/EU.
