Taiwan to Promote Non-animal Testing for Taiwan REACH

Taiwan will incentivize the use of non-animal tests for new and existing chemical registration. Discounts on registration fee will be offered to promote use of non-animal testing. No changes to current legislation are expected until after the second batch of PECs subject to registration are released, which is expected in 2/3 years.

A meeting was held in Taiwan EPA on the 18^th of September, focused on prioritization of non-animal testing for Taiwan REACH. This is in response to the foreseeable increase in animal testing required to comply with Taiwan’s new and existing chemical registration requirements.

In addition to encouraging purchasing of existing data from overseas (from the EU for example) prioritization of the acceptance of alternative testing at the legislative level would give registrants a clear signal that Taiwan wants to minimize the use of vertebrate testing.

During the meeting, basic consensus has been reached that in the future animal testing should be a last resort and used only if the necessary data cannot be obtained from other sources. The Toxic and Chemical Substances Bureau under Taiwan EPA (TCSB) will begin investigations into globally accepted animal testing alternatives methods in the next 6 months. The investigation will take account of global best practices, state of the art developments and the specifics of Taiwan’s chemical sector. A timetable for prioritizing alternative methods for toxicology and ecotoxicology tests will come out after deliberation with relevant authorities and animal rights organizations. The TCSB will now routinely assess the availability of well-recognized alternative methods, which will provide a rationale for any potential changes in legislation going forward.

For Taiwan REACH, joint submission is not a mandatory obligation which means that unnecessary duplication of testing involving the use of animals is inevitable. The authority envisages market forces and the mutual benefits of joint registration to motivate industry to establish consortiums and thereby minimize unnecessary repetition of safety testing involving animals.

NGOs feel these mechanisms fall short and are pushing for legislative changes. In response, the TCSB may issue notice by the end of this year prioritizing imported chemicals to promote non-animal testing. In addition, the TCSB has outlined that there is potential for legislative change after the second batch of priority existing chemical subject to standard registration (PECs) are released, as expected in two or three years. Taiwan will firstly revise the standards for new and existing chemical registration fees by this year, which will grant discounts to enterprises that use alternatives to animal testing to generate the data required for registration dossiers.