Abstract
The Immunotoxicology Technical Committee (ITC) was created in 1990 and is the oldest component of the scientific program of the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI), the global branch of the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI). The mission of the ITC is to identify and address scientific issues related to the development and application of immunotoxicology to public health and human health risk assessment; to promote the understanding and appropriate use of immunotoxicologic data to protect human health; and to contribute substantively to the scientific decision-making processes relative to the development of guidelines and regulations for immunotoxicology testing at the local, national and international levels. Over the last 15+ years, the mission of the ITC was addressed with the support of global member companies reflecting the agrichemical, chemical, consumer products, petrochemical and pharmaceutical industries, and significant input from academic and government colleagues. Through this effort, a firm foundation is fostered to decide how and where to best allocate scarce research resources in immunotoxicology. The focus of this presentation will be to highlight some of the recent activities of the ITC including the following: a better understanding of how to increase research opportunities to address immune-mediated drug hypersensitivity reactions (IDHR); a proposed testing framework for developmental immunotoxicology; an identification of the priority research needs in respiratory allergy reflecting protein-specific, chemical-specific, and drug-specific issues; an assessment of preclinical data needs for human immunogenicity of large molecules; an appreciation of clinical immunotoxicology-liabilities and ‘bridges’ between nonclinical and clinical approaches; and an update on the progress of creating a nonhuman primate immunotoxicology database. The success of the HESI ITC is based on an approach where international experts from academia, industry and government come together in a neutral forum and a cooperative atmosphere to engage in an open and transparent exchange of scientific ideas.
