Imagine you need to check whether a new chemical ingredient is safe — for a cosmetic, a drug, or a cleaning product. Traditionally, that meant expensive animal tests and months of waiting. OpenRiskNet built a kind of "Google for toxicology": one online platform where you can plug in your chemical and run safety predictions using computer models instead of lab animals. The trick was connecting dozens of scattered databases and prediction tools from different research groups into a single, easy-to-use system with a standardized interface.
Companies in cosmetics, pharma, and chemicals spend enormous amounts on safety testing — often using animal experiments that are increasingly restricted by EU regulations. The data and computational tools that could replace these tests exist, but they are scattered across dozens of research groups with no common interface, incompatible formats, and no easy way to chain them into a complete risk assessment workflow.
A fully functional online platform with standardized APIs connecting multiple toxicology databases and computational modeling tools into one interoperable system. The infrastructure uses container technology for easy deployment, includes service discovery, and was delivered with 23 completed deliverables including a reference system accessible online.
If you are a cosmetics company dealing with the EU ban on animal testing and the growing cost of safety-proving new ingredients — this project developed a fully functional online platform with standardized APIs that lets you run in silico toxicity predictions and risk assessments across 12 partner organizations' tools in one place, cutting the time from data-gathering to safety report.
If you are a pharma company or contract research organization struggling with fragmented toxicology data and incompatible modeling tools during early-stage drug safety screening — this project built containerized, ready-to-deploy computational services for hazard prediction, toxicokinetics, and in vitro to in vivo extrapolation, all accessible through a single interoperability layer.
If you are a chemical or nanomaterial producer facing REACH compliance requirements and needing to demonstrate safety without running costly repeated animal studies — this project delivered a reference system available online with 23 deliverables covering data sharing templates, ontology standards, and modeling workflows specifically designed for chemicals and nanomaterials risk assessment.
OpenRiskNet was built as open e-infrastructure, meaning the core platform and APIs are openly available. The reference system was made accessible online for demonstration and use. Commercial support or customization would need to be arranged with the consortium partners, particularly the coordinator Edelweiss Connect GmbH.
The platform was designed to support productive settings — the deliverables confirm a fully functional support infrastructure and a reference system available online. It uses container technology for scalable deployment, meaning companies can spin up their own virtual instances to handle their volume of assessments.
The project emphasizes openness — open APIs, open e-infrastructure, and containerized components available for easy deployment. Based on available project data, the tools and services are designed for open access, though individual service providers within the 12-partner consortium may have their own licensing terms for specific models or datasets.
The platform was specifically built to support chemical risk assessment under EU regulations, including REACH compliance scenarios. Case studies demonstrated applicability in productive settings supporting research and innovation in safer product design and risk assessment. The EuroSciVoc classification includes data protection compliance.
OpenRiskNet provides standard file formats for data sharing, including templates for data and metadata, plus harmonized ontologies. The Final API was released to both internal and external service providers, meaning third-party tools can connect through documented interfaces. Integration time depends on your current data format, but the standardization work was a core project goal.
The project included training and support on integration of specific services based on prototype implementation. The fully functional support infrastructure was delivered as a final deliverable. The coordinator Edelweiss Connect GmbH, a Swiss SME, would be the primary contact for ongoing support.
The project closed in November 2019 with all 23 deliverables completed and the reference system online. Based on available project data, the containerized architecture means the tools can still be deployed independently. The project website at openrisknet.org may have current status information.
The 12-partner consortium spans 9 European countries plus Switzerland, with a strong academic backbone of 7 universities and 3 research organizations providing deep toxicology and computational expertise. The 2 industry partners (both SMEs, including the Swiss coordinator Edelweiss Connect GmbH) represent 17% industry participation — relatively low, which means the technology is research-validated but may need additional commercial partnerships to drive adoption. The coordinator being an SME is a positive signal for business responsiveness, as smaller companies tend to be more agile in turning research into services.
Edelweiss Connect GmbH (Switzerland) — an SME specializing in connecting data science with life sciences. SciTransfer can facilitate a warm introduction.
Want to explore how OpenRiskNet's computational safety assessment tools could reduce your testing costs and regulatory timelines? SciTransfer can connect you directly with the development team and help evaluate fit for your specific use case.
