Announcing a new partnership with enviPath

You will probably know by now that one of the areas I am focusing on with Embark is environmental persistence. The topic of biodegradation and persistence of chemicals found me quite early in my career - during my time as a regulatory ecotoxicologist at Shell - and has been a source of fascination ever since.

In recent years, public interest in persistence has exploded. Science and policy are evolving fast, and companies are finding themselves with new challenges and questions to address.

Against this backdrop, it’s hugely exciting to announce that Embark will be working with enviPath to help you better understand and predict the environmental biotransformation of chemicals.

Origins of enviPath

The story of enviPath goes back to the early 2000s with the development of the University of Minnesota Pathway Prediction System. This tool used known biotransformation reactions to enable the prediction of degradation pathways for unknown compounds. The system continued to be developed, and was later transferred to the stewardship of Kathrin Fenner’s group at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag). Eventually, the carefully curated rule-based system was combined with advanced machine learning to deliver a hybrid predictive approach, and enviPath was born.

Fast forward to today and enviPath has evolved into a state-of-the-art software platform and companion for assessing the long-term fate of chemicals in the environment. This includes a comprehensive database of biotransformation reactions, pathways, rates, and transformation products. Last week the team also announced a significant new release of enviPath, including a complete redesign of the platform and user interface, enhanced prediction capabilities, and improved efficiency and scalability.

Perhaps the most exciting part about enviPath is its potential. We appear to be on the cusp of a massive expansion in new knowledge about environmental persistence. Simultaneous breakthroughs in analytical techniques, high-throughput experimental testing, improved data reporting and curation, and in silico tools promise an explosion of new insights (more on that in a future blog post), and enviPath sits right at the epicentre of this. Through its inherent design for database expansion, customisation and interoperability, enviPath has an enviable scope for developing bespoke solutions and novel applications, in collaboration with customers, partners and data holders.

Significance of transformation products

The emergence of enviPath could not be more timely. Not only is there a growing interest in persistence in general, but scientific inquiry and regulatory policy is increasingly swinging towards the transformation products of chemicals. Traditional chemicals assessment has focused on the fate and effects of chemicals as placed on the market (the so called “parent compounds”). However, recent issues related to transformation products, like the surprising impacts of the tyre additive 6-PPD on coho salmon populations, have garnered significant attention. Also, with the introduction of the persistent, mobile and toxic (PMT) and very persistent, very mobile (vPvM) hazard classes under the EU CLP regulation, transformation products are increasingly likely to play a key role in driving new hazard classifications of substances and mixtures.

With the growing challenges companies are facing around persistence assessments, and the new interest in transformation products, enviPath is uniquely-placed as a tool to deliver the insights and data needed for this ongoing assessment work. I’m enjoying working with Jörg Wicker and the whole enviPath team to help get the word out, and to provide input toward the future development of the tool.

Whether you are focused on complying with evolving regulatory requirements, innovating for safe and sustainable materials, or conducting broader research, it’s time to finally lift the lid on chemical transformation in the environment.

enviPath is here to help you do just that.

Interested in learning more about enviPath? Feel free to contact me to explore how the tool can support your organisation’s product development, research and regulatory goals.