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Summary Report on the Sens-it-iv End Congress in Brussels, November 23-25, 2011

Costanza Rovida1, Stefan F. Martin2, Manon Vivier3, Hans Ulrich Weltzien4, and Erwin Roggen5
1 Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT)-Europe, University of Konstanz, Germany;
2 Allergy Research Group, Department of Dermatology, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany;
3 Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Department of Toxicology, Dermato-Cosmetology and Pharmacognosy, Belgium;
4 Max Planck Institute for Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Freiburg, Germany;
5 Novozymes AS, Bagsvaerd, Denmark

Summary

Sens-it-iv is an FP6 Integrated Project that finished in March 2011 after 66 months of activity, thanks to 12 million € of funding. The ultimate goal of the Sens-it-iv project was the development of a set of in vitro methods for the assessment of the skin and respiratory sensitization potential of chemicals and proteins. The level of development was intended to be at the point to enter the pre-validation phase. At the end of the project it can be concluded that the goal has been largely accomplished. Several advanced methods were evaluated extensively, and for some of them a detailed Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) was established. Other, less advanced methods also contributed to our understanding of the mechanisms driving sensitization.

The present contribution, which has been prepared with the support of CAAT-Europe, represents a short summary of what was discussed during the 3-day end congress of the Sens-it-iv project in Brussels. It presents a list of methods that are ready for skin sensitization hazard assessment. Potency evaluation and the possibility of distinguishing skin from respiratory sensitizers are also well advanced.

ALTEX 30(2), 231 – 252

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