Nontest Methods for REACH Legislation

Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulates the manufacturing, importing, and use of chemicals in Europe. For the first time ever, the burden of proof for the safe use of chemicals has been shifted from public authorities to chemical manufacturers and importers. Substances cannot be placed on the market of the European Union without prior registration, according to the principle "no data, no market." Medicinal products are exempted, but obligations remain for pharmaceutical companies. For the generation of new data, REACH promotes the use of alternative methods, while animal testing shall be used only as a last resort. In this article, we focus on nontest methods, such as (quantitative) structure-activity relationship and read-across.