The Unit of Experimental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology (UTOX) at the Parc Cientific de Barcelona received the Certificate of assessment of conformity with Good Laboratory Practices (GLP), which covers the conduct of in vitro and in vivo studies on severe and chronic toxicity, mutagenicity tests, and ecotoxicological studies on human and veterinary drugs, health and cosmetic devices. The certificate was conferred by the Directorate General for Health Planning and Regulation of the Department of Health of the Government of Catalonia, in compliance with Directiva 2004/9/CE. UTOX has been supported by the Agency for Policy and Quality of the University of Barcelona.

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The UTOX is the first research center in ecotoxicology trials in Spain that has been included in the Quality Standards Assurance Program for Compliance with the Principles of Good Laboratory Practices established internationally for OECD member countries. These studies are necessary to be able to register and/or authorize the use of medicines (for human or veterinary use), cosmetics and medical devices.

“The attainment of this certification is recognition to the effort carried out by the entire team of the Unit for more than 10 years, and reflects an achievement of great transcendence for all the staff at the UTOX Unit, the UB and the PCB. This accreditation consolidates the Unit as a center of reference for toxicological studies in the international setting” – said Miquel Borràs, Head of the Experimental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology Unit, co-Director of CERETOX, and associate professor at the Department of Public Health at the School of Medicine of the University of Barcelona.

“This accreditation increases our technological offer and allows us to offer our clients a very wide range of safety assessments that range from the most initial toxicology screenings to preclinical toxicology. At present, we can cover all areas of experimental toxicology and approach the most relevant toxicology information blocks, from the development stage of a product to the regulatory phase”- states Dr. Borrás.

A European reference center for toxicology

The Experimental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology Unit (UTOX) is a platform for research, innovation and services in toxicology created as a unit under the scope of the Parc Científic de Barcelona. Its aim is to provide support to UB research teams and companies located at the park, as well as to other external public and private centers in the pharmaceutical, food, cosmetics, chemical, veterinary, health devices and environmental management fields. The Unit collaborates with numerous research groups from different national and international universities, organizations, and public administration offices, and participates in a large number of national and European public research projects (CENIT, Projectes Singulars i Estratègics, 7PM, etc.).

The UTOX, together with the Toxicology Unit of the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Barcelona, work together to form the Toxicology Research Centre (CERETOX) – IT center of the TECNIO network (promoted by the Agency ACC1Ó of the Generalitat de Catalunya). It is also a member of the group CITA–UB (promoted by the University of Barcelona and the Bosch i Gimpera Foundation).

The center has won the Quality Management System accreditation, in compliance with the accreditation process based on the requirements established by the ISO9001 accreditation and the EFQM Model (European Foundation for Quality Management ). All toxicology studies conducted at the Unit are based on the recommendations and validated protocols of the different international agencies, regulated by the pertinent legislations: OECD , ISO, ECVAM , ASTM , EMEA , EFSA and FDA , among others.