News | Jul 3, 2025

OECD Releases 2025 Test Guideline Programme Updates

Written by ICAPO secretariat Eryn Slankster-Schmierer, PhD.

In early April 2025, ICAPO representatives attended the 37th annual meeting of the Working Group of the National Coordinators of the Test Guideline Programme. Throughout the year, ICAPO experts work across the Test Guideline Programme to reduce and replace animal use by updating existing guidance and advocating for more effective non-animal methods. Through a process called Mutual Acceptance of Data, these guidelines help to harmonize testing across all 38 OECD Member countries and beyond.  

On June 25, 2025, the OECD released updates on the newly published. A total of 56 updates were announced. ICAPO-supported Test Guideline updates are listed below: 

Additionally, while the effectiveness to decrease animal use remains to be seen, seven animal-based Test Guidelines were updated to allow collection of tissue samples for omics analysis, including Test No. 203: Fish, Acute Toxicity Test, Test No. 210: Fish, Early-life Stage Toxicity Test, Test No. 236: Fish Embryo Acute Toxicity (FET) Test, Test No. 407: Repeated Dose 28-day Oral Toxicity Study in Rodents, Test No. 408: Repeated Dose 90-Day Oral Toxicity Study in Rodents, Test No. 421: Reproduction/Developmental Toxicity Screening Test, Test No. 422: Combined Repeated Dose Toxicity Study with the Reproduction/Developmental Toxicity Screening Test 

ICAPO members continue to work on assisting NAMs through the test guideline program in new and on-going projects. For a list of non-animal test guidelines, please visit www.icapo.org/test-guidelines. A complete list of 2025 Test Guideline Programme updates is available on the OECD website.