Like all any new field of research, non-animal methods of toxicity research still needs to be further developed, validated, accepted, and implemented.
Some current scientific challenges include:
- a lack of focused research in alternatives. There needs to be more data to validate in silico methods for use in risk assessment of chemicals.
- insufficient amount of academic scientists participating in the research and design of animal testing alternatives.
- lack of a public and accessible database for scientists to access existing data.
- lack of comprehensive proof that an in silico system is able to capture the complexity of an intact organism, which is required by regulatory agencies.
- more basic research is needed to develop a better understanding of toxicological processes in tissues and organs before better predictive models can be developed.
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Other challenges that may limit the further implementation of in silico methods include:
- government agencies generally do not prioritize funding for alternatives to animal testing, thus causing a lack of funding for research.
- the regulatory agency acceptance processes can be unclear when dealing with in silico methods.
- there is still a difficulty in convincing both the scientific and regulatory communities that in silico methods can fulfil its intended purpose as an alternative method.