2023 was another exciting year at Lhasa, and there is plenty to look forward to in 2024! For our first Lhasa blog of the year, our CEO, Dr Chris Barber, reflects on 2023 achievements and shares 2024 insights. Hear from Chris directly via the video within this blog.

As a scientific software not-for-profit organisation, our collaboration with industry, regulators and academics continues to drive our impact. Chris’ 2023 highlights include:

• Acknowledgment from the EMA regarding how Lhasa software contributes to safer decision-making.
• A significant collaborative publication on developmental toxicity with the National Institute of Health Sciences (NIHS) of Japan. One of twenty papers we published 2023, amassing over 100,000 reads in total!
• Our science directly impacting the updated nitrosamine regulatory guidance, evident through citations. On the topic of nitrosamine risk assessment, exciting 2023 software updates included Mirabilis, predicting nitrosamine formation risk, and Derek Nexus, supporting acceptable limit assessment through the carcinogenicity potency categorisation approach (CPCA).
• Vitic, our structure-searchable toxicity database, reaching a significant milestone in continuous development, now containing half a million expertly curated tox records!
• Significant growth of our complex nitrosamines data sharing initiative.
• Connecting with our knowledgeable scientific community through the 15 in-person events we held worldwide in 2023.
• Growing our member community to 630 organisations, including new members, for the first time, in Argentina, Colombia and Uruguay, emphasising our commitment to global chemical safety progress.
• Celebrating 40 years of Lhasa!

Looking ahead to 2024, we remain focused on member needs, with Chris’ forecasted highlights including:

• Increasing regulator acceptance and development of Kaptis, a tool supporting decision-making using adverse outcome pathways (AOPs).
• A new Lhasa read-across tool for better decision-making is coming soon…
• Engaging with our growing community at one of the many events we plan to host throughout the year – keep an eye on our Lhasa events page or register to receive Lhasa updates.
• The launch of Consult Lhasa, a wholly owned subsidiary led by Dr Crina Heghes, providing risk assessments directly to the pharmaceutical industry, positively impacting human health as a result.

Watch Chris Barber’s 2023 round up and 2024 projection

Thank you to the dedicated team of experts at Lhasa, our members, collaborators and advocates – you all make our achievements possible!

For more information on any of the topics mentioned above, please get in touch.