Filling Data Gaps by Read-across: A Mini Review on its Application, Developments and Challenges

Read-across is a non-testing data gap filling technique which provides information for toxicological assessments by inferring from known toxicity data of compound(s) with a similar property or chemical profile. The increased usage of read-across was driven by monetary, timing and ethical costs associated with in vivo testing, as well as promoted by regulatory frameworks to minimize new animal testing (e.g., EU-REACH). Several guidance documents have been published by ECHA and OECD providing guidelines on how to perform, assess and document a read-across study. In parallel, much effort was invested by the scientific community to provide good read-across practices and structured frameworks to enhance validity of read-across justifications. Nevertheless, read-across is an evolving method with several open issues and opportunities. A brief review is here provided on key developments on the use of read-across, regulatory and scientific expectations, practical hurdles and open challenges.