The ONTOX consortium, a collaborative effort involving 19 partners from Europe and the USA, recently marked a significant milestone with its third Annual Meeting. Held on April 24-25, 2024, at Utrecht University’s Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences in the Netherlands, the event underscored ONTOX’s dedication to transforming human risk assessment of chemicals without resorting to animal testing.
The event, subtitled “Getting Ontologies and Probabilistic Risk Assessment into Shape,” highlighted ONTOX’s commitment to developing functional and sustainable solutions in line with 21st-century toxicity testing and Next Generation Risk Assessment principles.
By using Artificial Intelligence-driven tools to predict toxic effects in vital organs such as the liver, kidneys, and developing brain, ONTOX is pioneering ethical and sustainable chemical risk assessment. This approach is particularly relevant to the pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, biocides, and food safety sectors.
The Annual Meeting focused on workshops dedicated to Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA), a quantitative method for estimating the likelihood and magnitude of adverse health effects in a population exposed to hazardous substances. ONTOX promotes PRA as part of a paradigm shift from hazard-based to risk-based assessment, with the future implementation of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs).
The Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) provided valuable reflections on ONTOX’s progress and enriched the discussions with their expertise. The board, comprising Gladys Ouedraogo (L’Oréal) Marjana Novic (National Institute of Chemistry, Slovenia), Patience Browne (OECD, France), Paul Whaley (Lancaster University, UK), and Predrag Kukic (Unilever, UK), expressed satisfaction with the project’s advancements over the past three years.
“We are particularly encouraged by the strong culture of collaboration within ONTOX, where people are working well together to collectively solve a range of problems in a complex interconnected space. This culture of collaboration also seems to be very supportive of early career researchers, with striking progress being made by PhD students who seem well-integrated into the work of the collaboration, and also with external groups such as OECD and ICCVAM, suggesting a clear path toward lasting impact of the research,” stated Paul Whaley on behalf of the SAB.
The SAB also judged the ONTOX Young Scientist Poster Contest. Bernard Staumont (Université de Liège, Belgium) won the top prize for his outstanding poster, “From Physiological Maps to Disease Ontology Maps Using a Systems Biology Approach.”
Bernard was awarded with a complimentary participation at the 22nd European Society of Toxicology in Vitro (ESTIV) Congress (3-6 June, Prague).
“I am extremely pleased with the major progress made in the three years of the ONTOX project. During this meeting, the Probabilistic Risk Assessment workshops explored the role of AI in toxicology, offering insights into Next Generation risk assessment and potentially accelerating the implementation of NAMs. I am thrilled that our collaborations with initiatives such as the ASPIS cluster, Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals (PARC) and Virtual Human Platform for Safety Assessment Project (VHP4Safety) are effectively advancing towards a common goal – a safer world without the need for animal testing in chemical safety assessments,” commented Mathieu Vinken, ONTOX coordinator (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium).
“We must also acknowledge the passion and relentless effort of our young scientists, who are instrumental in driving this progress. Their enthusiasm and dedication to advancing the field of toxicology are truly inspiring, and I am confident they will continue to make significant contributions to our collective efforts going forward,” he concluded.
In addition to the scientific discussions, members of the ONTOX consortium enjoyed a city tour of Utrecht and a delightful dinner at Humphrey’s Restaurant, enhancing the collaborative spirit of the event.
The ONTOX consortium is leading the way in addressing societal, ethical, and economic needs for animal-free chemical safety testing methods. As the project enters its pivotal phase, the next two years will be crucial for sustaining momentum and advancing its goals.
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