Good Laboratory Practice as an international standard OECD training course on regulatory oversight of Good Laboratory Practice enters its 17th edition
What it's about:
To further strengthen Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) as an internationally recognised quality system and to train participants in internationally harmonised regulatory GLP monitoring, the 17th OECD training course for GLP inspectors took place in Berlin, Germany from 2 to 5 November 2026. Every two years, different national GLP compliance monitoring authorities, in cooperation with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), organise this training course for current and prospective GLP inspectors from around the world, with the aim of building and deepening their knowledge and skills in compliance monitoring of GLP. This year, the GLP Federal Bureau, which is part of the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment), hosted the training course.
The course comprised lectures and workshops focusing on strategies and practical aspects of conducting GLP inspections and study audits. The aim is to promote the development and improvement of the participants’ inspection skills.
GLP is a quality system concerned with the organisational process and the conditions under which non-clinical health and environmental safety studies are planned, performed, monitored, recorded, archived and reported. Non-clinical safety studies are required to demonstrate the suitability of substances, mixtures and products in regulatory procedures, so that receiving authorities can make evidence-based decisions regarding the registration and authorisation of chemicals and medicinal products.
Thanks to the international harmonisation of GLP and its compliance monitoring, the use of harmonised test methods, and the mutual acceptance of data (MAD), study data are recognised across the OECD in more than 40 countries. GLP thus contributes directly to reducing the number of laboratory animals used, avoiding duplicate testing and removing trade barriers, thereby making an important contribution to a sustainable chemicals strategy.
Over a period of four days, inspectors from the GLP compliance monitoring programmes of OECD member countries and MAD accession countries trained around 70 participants from over 35 countries. The training sessions combined theoretical principles with practical workshops and covered, amongst other things, the following areas: the OECD’s GLP Principles and the framework of the OECD’s MAD system; the requirements for inspectors; the systematic preparation and conduct of an inspection; the conclusion and reporting of an inspection; and the follow-up on the rectification of non-conformities. Computerised systems, as well as data integrity and archiving, also played an important role during the course.
The GLP Federal Bureau, which was responsible for organising the event, is based at the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment. On the basis of the German Chemicals Act (ChemG) and the General Administrative Provision on the Procedure of National Monitoring to ensure Good Laboratory Practice (ChemVwV-GLP ), it ensures the coordination and harmonisation of GLP-related issues at national and international level. Furthermore, the GLP Federal Bureauis entrusted with the inspection of certain GLP test facilities both in Germany and abroad.
Further information on Good Laboratory Practice (GLP)
- Overview page on good Laboratory Practice (GLP) Go to page
- Over 35 years of good laboratory practice (GLP) in Germany Go to communication