Poster to describe the mission, composition and activity of ecopa. Presented at EUSAAT 2018, ESTIV 2018 and Francopa, ecopa symposium

1. The European Consensus Platform for 3R Alternatives to Animal Experimentation
(ecopa)
C. Rovida1, L. Bastos2, P. Hubert3, T. Heinonen4
1. University of Konstanz, Konstanz
2. Eurogroup for Animals, Brussels
3. INERIS, Paris
4. University of Tampere, Tampere
Ecopa is an Accredited Stakeholder at:
ecopa is an international non-profit association with the aim to promote the use of “the three Rs” (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement) in laboratory animal
use for scientific purposes in Europe. ecopa shall therefore contribute to increase knowledge within
1. Replacement of animal experiments by non-animal approaches
2. Reduction of the number of animals used in experiments
3. Refinement of animal experiments to reduce suffering, increase animal welfare and increase the value of the experiments
ecopa shall strive for consensus between the stakeholders in attempting to achieve its goals.
ecopa represents, as a minimum, all the following stakeholders:
Strategic goals
High quality New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) integrating advanced in
vitro, in silico and in chemico tools should be developed and included in testing
strategies to increase our understanding of toxicity mechanisms in humans and
the risks to the environment. The same goal applies to biomedical research.
ecopa’s strategic goals apply to all areas where animals are used for scientific
or regulatory purposes. In line with the Directive 2010/63/EU for the
protection of animals used for scientific purposes, ecopa’s ultimate goal is to
completely phase out animal experiments. However, at present, some in vivo
studies are still legally required or authorized to advance knowledge.
Therefore, authorized in vivo studies should be performed in compliance with
the principles of Reduction and Refinement to minimise the suffering of
laboratory animals, and the use of as few animals as possible.
Short-term goals
➢ 3Rs knowledge sharing through an annual ecopa workshop.
➢ Annual financial support to young scientists to present their work at
international meetings and workshops (in the form of travel grants).
Long-term goals
➢ ecopa disseminates knowledge of the 3Rs by means of international
meetings, EU projects and work by individual stakeholders
➢ ecopa is invited as a stakeholder to events designed to advance the 3Rs, by
organisations such as ECHA, EFSA, EMA and EURL ECVAM
Acronyms
CAAT-European: Center for Alternative to Animal Testing in Europe
ECHA: European Chemicals Agency
ecopa: European consensus platform for alternatives
ECVAM: European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods
EMA: European Medicines Agency
ESAC: EURL ECVAM Scientific Advisory Committee
ESTAF: ECVAM Stakeholder Forum
EURL-ECVAM: European Union Reference Laboratory for alternatives to animal testing
ecopa is composed by 7 National Consensus Platforms:
Finland, France, Norway, Spain, Italy,
Germany and Switzerland plus other members
as individuals to include academic institutions,
professional associations, companies, and any other organisation or
person which support ecopa's aims.
Germany - SET http:// www.stiftung-set.de
Italy - IPAM https://www.ipamitalia.org
Finland - FINCOPA http://fincopa.fi
France - FRANCOPA http:// www.francopa.fr
Norway - NORECOPA https://norecopa.no
Spain - REMA http:// www.remanet.net
Switzerland - Swiss3RNetwork https://swiss3rnetwork.org
Personal Membership Associate Member
Joining ecopa means entering into a community that promotes scientific
discussion on the 3Rs at international level. ecopa is also an accredited
stakeholder at EURL-ECVAM, ECHA and EFSA and member of the board of
CAAT-Europe.
Affiliates of ecopa are part of ESAC at EURL-ECVAM and the ecopa board is
constantly in contact with DG Environment and DG Health & Consumers.
Additionally, many members are participating in European Integrated Projects
National platforms represent a network of experts that share the common
goal of implementing the 3Rs for the benefit of science
EFSA: European Food Safety Authority
FINCOPA Finnish Consensus Platform for Alternatives
FRANCOPA: Plateforme nationale pour le développement des méthodes alternatives
IPAM Italian Platform on Alternative Methods
NORECOPA: Norway's National Consensus Platform for the advancement of "the 3 Rs"
REMA Red Española para el Desarrollo de Métodos Alternativos a la Experimentación Animal
SET: Stiftung zur Förderung der Erforschung von Ersatz- und Ergänzungsmethoden von Tierversuchen
Swiss3RNetwork: Swiss platform for 3Rs
www.ecopa.eu