Eurotox 2018 presented a fantastic opportunity to engage with the international toxicology community and learn from toxicologists from all over the world. This year from Penman Consulting, Mike Penman, Lawrence Segal, Julie Muller, Angelica Candido, Tiina Lantto, Jamie Dunn, Viktorija Ostapenkaite and Alex Leadbeater all attended.
More than 65 exhibitors from the pharmaceutical, chemical and biotechnological industries were at the conference and with a packed scientific program, it was a busy few days.
Viktorija Ostapenkaite gave us a review of her time at the conference:
Who did you meet?
“I met with a range of people during the conference including CROs, academics and researchers, regulators and clients. It was also nice to meet up with my colleagues who work in Brussels who I do not see very often.”
What did you learn?
“There was so much to take in during the conference but here are some of the key things that I learned:
- ECHA is still expecting more detailed analytical information to support the application of read-across strategies instead of endpoint-specific studies.
- Alternative testing methods (in vitro, in silico, metabolomics, genomics, etc.) are being discussed and implemented more widely but the interpretation of results is still difficult.
- REACH registrants are being encouraged to obtain toxicokinetic/toxicodynamic data to support Adverse Outcome Pathways (AOPs) as opposed to traditional in-vivo methods.
It is exciting to see alternative methods becoming more prevalent and to see how they will develop in the future.”
What were your highlights?
“The best parts of the conference were the read-across and testing strategy discussions and listening to presentations by key researchers on the application of alternative methods to complex endpoints, for example, cancer and the importance of resilience in achieving significant goals.”
Anything else you enjoyed about the conference or your time in Brussels?
“A lot of the presenters had a good sense of humour and gave practical examples, which made their talks very enjoyable. I also enjoyed the warm weather, sun and summer vibes, meeting locals at a café and having dinner with my colleagues from the Brussels office.”
Conferences, like Eurotox, are a great way for us to stay up to date with changes and developments across the industry. They give out staff the opportunity to learn and develop which allow us to continually improve the service that we provide to our clients.