IUCLID news

12/09/2018
What will the new IUCLID version bring?

A new major version of IUCLID will be made available to users at the end of October.

The IUCLID application is usually updated twice a year in order to provide fixes, improvements and new features to the users. This year, due to the REACH registration deadline in Europe, the April service release was cancelled. The October release, IUCLID 6.3, will be published as planned.

The most important new feature of this release is a completely new user interface that requires only a standard web browser. No additional software is needed to run this version of IUCLID. The new web interface was initially developed as part of the ECHA Cloud project, and so users of the IUCLID Cloud Services hosted at ECHA will have already seen an early version of the interface. In the past months we have been working on reducing the gap between the ‘classic’ user interface, and the new one. We aim to continue to extend the features of the new interface to a point where it can be the only interface available.

The October IUCLID release brings not only changes to the application but also to the IUCLID format. The main changes include: the latest OECD Harmonised Templates, the incorporation of specific elements for microorganisms datasets, and the support of European Poison Centres notifications.

In terms of compatibility, the latest IUCLID version will be able to accept all files from IUCLID 5.6 and later, while it will also be able to export files that are compatible with IUCLID 6.2. Support for the previous major IUCLID version gives users more flexibility in deciding when to upgrade their systems because it makes IUCLID versions fully compatible with each other for at least two years after a release. In line with this statement we also recommend that users of IUCLID 6.1 prepare for an upgrade to 6.3, to avoid any issues while exchanging data.

Regulatory authorities that require data in the IUCLID format should communicate the version of IUCLID that shall be used to fulfil specific information requirements. As an example, since June 2016, ECHA has required at least IUCLID 6.1. Users sending data to ECHA can also subscribe to the IUCLID Cloud Services in order to always benefit from the latest IUCLID version automatically. Existing IUCLID Cloud Services accounts are typically updated within a couple of weeks following a new version publication.

There are many other aspects of this IUCLID release that are of note, and we will be posting regularly some additional information on our IUCLID LinkedIn group. Please join us to take part in the discussions.

IUCLID 6.3 will be available for download from the IUCLID 6 website on the 24th of October. During the week following the release we will host a webinar to present the new version in more detail, and to answer any related questions.

Additional information

IUCLID 6 website | IUCLID LinkedIn group | Register to the IUCLID 6.3 webinar