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A review of publications on pesticides assessing the need for 1-year toxicity studies in dogs was performed. Four key peer-reviewed papers with different approaches investigated the value of a 1-year dog study in addition to a 3-month study. Despite different databases and approaches, each concluded with the recommendation to limit the testing of pesticides in dogs to a duration of 3 months. The combined weight of evidence presented in this review reinforces these independent conclusions. Therefore, the routine inclusion of a 1-year dog study as a mandated regulatory requirement for the safety assessment of pesticides is no longer justifiable and a globally harmonized approach should be taken to match the latest legislation of the European Union and the US EPA

The European Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing (EPAA) convened a Partners' Forum on repeated dose toxicity (RDT) testing to identify synergies between industrial sectors and stakeholders along with opportunities to progress these in existing research frameworks. Although RTD testing is not performed across all industrial sectors, the OECD accepted tests can provide a rich source of information and play a pivotal role for safety decisions relating to the use of chemicals. Currently there are no validated alternatives to repeated dose testing and a direct one-to-one replacement is not appropriate. However, there are many projects and initiatives at the international level which aim to implement various aspects of replacement, reduction and refinement (the 3Rs) in RDT testing. Improved definition of use, through better problem formulation, aligned to harmonisation of regulations is a key area, as is the more rapid implementation of alternatives into the legislative framework. Existing test designs can be optimised to reduce animal use and increase information content. Greater use of exposure-led decisions and improvements in dose selection will be beneficial. In addition, EPAA facilitates sharing of case studies demonstrating the use of Next Generation Risk Assessment applying various New Approach Methodologies to assess RDT.