Altertox was founded in 2012 in Brussels, Belgium and qualifies as a SME (Small Medium Enterprise). Altertox supports the development of scientist 2.0 in life sciences by 1) making people better scientists 2) making scientists better people and 3) making scientists voice heard. Under the first pillar, “making people better scientists”, Altertox has an expertise in organizing training activities in laboratories focusing on new biotech tools exclusively in vitro and in silico methods in Europe on alternatives to animal testing. This activity - started in 2016 - connects experts from Europe and the U.S. to provide hands-on training in human-relevant alternative methods and technologies for toxicologists at all levels of experience, from entry level technician (BS) to laboratory or department manager (MS/PhD/Postdoctoral Fellows). Among customers and partners, Altertox has worked for ECHA, EFSA, BASF, epithelix or MIMETAS. The topics ranged from PBPK modelling to in silico methods such as read-across and in vitro EDC level 1 and 2 tools. Under the second pillar “making scientists better people”, Altertox also organizes a training activity called Skills4Science. Last, “making scientists voice heard”, Altertox is involved in public affairs since 2012 to lobby on 3Rs (replacement, reduction, refinement) issues on behalf of CAAT-Europe in particular with the European Parliament. As a consequence, Altertox is part of the EU transparency register 400309213564-96 where all information and files advocated by Altertox can be searched. Moreover, this know-how is transfered since 2018 to scientists at the European Commission Joint Research Center via two-days trainings to learn about “informed evidence to policy makers”. This activity will run until end of 2020. In addition, Altertox Academy organizes scientific conference in Europe with innovative set-up and collaborative approaches to ensure best educative experience for the participants.
