Swetox in Södertälje is the first academic research environment in Sweden to be granted GLP status for Toxicological studies, Analytic and Clinical Chemistry.

GLP (Good laboratory practice) is a quality assurance system which details how non-clinical safety studies on drugs and chemicals should be performed regarding planning, skills, routines, equipment, documentation and archiving.

“It’s very satisfying that we already have reached this high status in our work, after just 18 months of operation”, says Åke Bergman, professor of Environmental Chemistry and head at Swetox.

Swetox Södertälje constitutes the hub of a unique collaboration between 11 Swedish universities. The research performed is both basic and commissioned, and concerns chemicals, health and environment. It covers e.g. pharmaceuticals and endocrine disruptors from plastic materials or fire extinguishing agents that have escaped from airports. The work is performed in well-equipped facilities in Södertälje, south of Stockholm.

The criteria for GLP were first stipulated in Denmark and New Zeeland in 1972 and later adopted by FDA in the US and within the OECD countries. A GLP standard is a prerequisite for regulatory safety experiments that form the base for safety assessment of medical drugs and chemicals.