Bio: Dr. Chantal Smulders is a distinguished professional in the field of chemical safety and environmental risk assessment. She currently serves as the Chair of the Board of ECETOC, the European Center for Ecotoxicology and Toxicology as well as the Global Head of Product Safety Science and Regulatory at Shell. With extensive experience in both industry and scientific research, Chantal has been actively involved in advancing chemical safety assessments and promoting human-relevant data. Her work emphasizes the use of innovative, new approach methods to improve risk estimates and enhance our understanding of chemical impacts on human health and the environment. As a thought leader, Chantal collaborates with stakeholders, regulators, and fellow experts to accelerate safer chemical assessments and ensure a sustainable future.

Abstract: Inhalation of certain chemicals may potentially cause irritation to the respiratory tract resulting in inflammation, which if unresolved can lead to irreversible fibrosis of the lungs. Currently there are limited models to determine the respiratory irritation potential of new or existing substances. Assessing whether a chemical will cause respiratory irritation in humans is often determined by observations in rodent acute (single) and repeat dose inhalation toxicology studies. Without robust models specifically for respiratory irritation, it is possible that chemicals may reach the market with the potential liability of being respiratory irritants.

The goal of the RespiraTox CRACK IT Challenge was to develop an accurate in silico tool to predict human respiratory irritation potential. Such a tool would allow for the early identification of potential toxicities in candidate chemicals and contribute to the scientific justification to waive in vivo studies for respiratory irritation for those taken forward to registration. This is in line with growing efforts internationally to increase mechanistic understanding of toxicity pathways and to reduce the reliance on animal toxicity tests. This presentation will provide an overview of the experience of an industry end-user in supporting the tool’s development and its utilisation in practice.