Periodic Reporting for period 1 - CHIASMA (Accessible Innovative Methods for the Safety & Sustainability Assessment of Chemicals & Materials)
Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2025-06-30
Chemicals and advanced materials are vital to modern life, but they also raise important questions about safety for people and the environment. Traditional safety testing relied heavily on animal experiments, which are costly, slow, and raise ethical concerns. At the same time, Europe has committed to ambitious policies such as the European Green Deal and the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, which aim for a future that is both toxic-free and sustainable.
The CHIASMA project responds to these needs by developing a new generation of tools, called New Approach Methodologies (NAMs). These include computer models, advanced cell-based laboratory systems, and integrated data platforms that together can provide reliable information on chemical safety without the use of animals.
CHIASMA’s goal is to create a user-friendly and trusted framework for assessing safety and sustainability throughout the entire life cycle of a substance or material – from production to use and disposal. The project brings together universities, research institutes, regulators, and industry, ensuring that the methods are scientifically sound, practically useful, and directly relevant to European and global policy frameworks.
To demonstrate its real-world relevance, CHIASMA is applying its methods to three pressing cases:
- PFAS (“forever chemicals”), known for their persistence in the environment;
- Nano-pesticides, which promise sustainable agriculture but raise new safety questions;
- 2D materials for energy applications, a fast-growing class of materials for batteries and electronics.
Through this work, CHIASMA is helping to position Europe as a global leader in safe and sustainable innovation.
The CHIASMA project responds to these needs by developing a new generation of tools, called New Approach Methodologies (NAMs). These include computer models, advanced cell-based laboratory systems, and integrated data platforms that together can provide reliable information on chemical safety without the use of animals.
CHIASMA’s goal is to create a user-friendly and trusted framework for assessing safety and sustainability throughout the entire life cycle of a substance or material – from production to use and disposal. The project brings together universities, research institutes, regulators, and industry, ensuring that the methods are scientifically sound, practically useful, and directly relevant to European and global policy frameworks.
To demonstrate its real-world relevance, CHIASMA is applying its methods to three pressing cases:
- PFAS (“forever chemicals”), known for their persistence in the environment;
- Nano-pesticides, which promise sustainable agriculture but raise new safety questions;
- 2D materials for energy applications, a fast-growing class of materials for batteries and electronics.
Through this work, CHIASMA is helping to position Europe as a global leader in safe and sustainable innovation.
In its first 18 months, CHIASMA has made strong progress across science, technology, and regulatory engagement:
Collaborative foundations: The project successfully connected regulators, scientists, and industry. A major highlight was the first Regulatory Risk Assessors’ Summit, gathering over 70 stakeholders to discuss how to move towards animal-free safety assessment.
Development of new tools: More than 15 experimental and computational NAMs have been advanced, including high-throughput transcriptomics for predicting long-term health effects, in vitro barrier models (lung, skin, intestine, placenta), and predictive computer models for fish toxicity and nanoparticle effects on plants.
Knowledge infrastructure: A first version of the CHIASMA Knowledge Graph was created, linking curated datasets (e.g. Human Protein Atlas, KEGG, Gene Ontology) with experimental data. This provides a foundation for systems-based safety assessments.
Software platform: Work began on the CHIASMA SSbD Assessment Software Interface (CSI) – a “one-stop” digital platform where users can access, combine, and run NAMs in line with FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable).
Quality and reliability: Protocols for inter-laboratory comparisons were established to ensure reproducibility and readiness for regulatory uptake.
Policy mapping: An in-depth analysis of EU and international regulatory frameworks was initiated, identifying where new methods can be best integrated.
Overall, the project is on track, with milestones and deliverables met as planned.
Collaborative foundations: The project successfully connected regulators, scientists, and industry. A major highlight was the first Regulatory Risk Assessors’ Summit, gathering over 70 stakeholders to discuss how to move towards animal-free safety assessment.
Development of new tools: More than 15 experimental and computational NAMs have been advanced, including high-throughput transcriptomics for predicting long-term health effects, in vitro barrier models (lung, skin, intestine, placenta), and predictive computer models for fish toxicity and nanoparticle effects on plants.
Knowledge infrastructure: A first version of the CHIASMA Knowledge Graph was created, linking curated datasets (e.g. Human Protein Atlas, KEGG, Gene Ontology) with experimental data. This provides a foundation for systems-based safety assessments.
Software platform: Work began on the CHIASMA SSbD Assessment Software Interface (CSI) – a “one-stop” digital platform where users can access, combine, and run NAMs in line with FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable).
Quality and reliability: Protocols for inter-laboratory comparisons were established to ensure reproducibility and readiness for regulatory uptake.
Policy mapping: An in-depth analysis of EU and international regulatory frameworks was initiated, identifying where new methods can be best integrated.
Overall, the project is on track, with milestones and deliverables met as planned.
CHIASMA is moving the field forward in several important ways:
From animals to advanced models: By combining laboratory-grown human tissues with computational simulations, the project is developing methods that are both more humane and more relevant for human health than traditional animal tests.
Integration across domains: The project uniquely links safety assessment with sustainability concepts such as life cycle assessment (LCA). This allows decision-makers to evaluate not only whether a substance is safe, but also whether it is sustainable in the long run.
Open science and data FAIRness: A federated data management system ensures that all outputs – from lab data to computer models – can be shared, reproduced, and reused by other scientists and regulators.
Regulatory innovation: CHIASMA partners are in dialogue with the OECD and European agencies (ECHA, EFSA, EURL ECVAM) to create new templates for interpreting complex omics data, something not currently available in regulatory practice.
These achievements pave the way for faster, cheaper, and more sustainable innovation across sectors like healthcare, agriculture, and energy. To ensure uptake, further steps will include continued validation, international standardisation, and demonstration in industrial case studies.
From animals to advanced models: By combining laboratory-grown human tissues with computational simulations, the project is developing methods that are both more humane and more relevant for human health than traditional animal tests.
Integration across domains: The project uniquely links safety assessment with sustainability concepts such as life cycle assessment (LCA). This allows decision-makers to evaluate not only whether a substance is safe, but also whether it is sustainable in the long run.
Open science and data FAIRness: A federated data management system ensures that all outputs – from lab data to computer models – can be shared, reproduced, and reused by other scientists and regulators.
Regulatory innovation: CHIASMA partners are in dialogue with the OECD and European agencies (ECHA, EFSA, EURL ECVAM) to create new templates for interpreting complex omics data, something not currently available in regulatory practice.
These achievements pave the way for faster, cheaper, and more sustainable innovation across sectors like healthcare, agriculture, and energy. To ensure uptake, further steps will include continued validation, international standardisation, and demonstration in industrial case studies.