News Archive

The revised Guideline on the Environmental Risk Assessment of Medicinal Products for Human Use (EMEA/CHMP/SWP/4447/00 Rev. 1 – Corr.) came into force in September 2024. For pharmaceutical companies, it introduces additional requirements for Environmental Risk Assessments (ERA). We can support you in meeting these expectations – efficiently, scientifically robust, and fully aligned with the latest regulatory standards.
 
Our Services for Pharmaceutical Companies

• Systematic literature review in accordance with the current ERA guideline
• Gap analysis: identification of missing studies and data gaps
• Evaluation and conduct of Phase I/II ERAs
• Support in responding to authority queries

Why choose Dr. Brill Regulatory Services?
With more than 20 years of experience in environmental risk assessment, Heike Schimmelpfennig brings extensive expertise from industry, regulatory authorities, and international regulatory frameworks – including over 10 years at ECHA and collaborations with EMA. You will benefit from a unique combination of regulatory know how, scientific expertise, and hands on dossier experience.
 
Want to Ensure Full ERA Compliance? We support you from initial screening to developing complete assessment documents – compliant, efficient, and strategically sound.
 
Contact us for a non binding consultation - here: Contact.
 
Dr. Brill Regulatory Services – Your Partner for Regulatory Excellence in the Pharmaceutical Sector

A research article titled "Testing the biodegradability of difficult compounds: a future challenge for OECD/ISO standardization" has been published in the journal "Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology", Volume 110, article number 122, (2026). Among the authors is Stefan Gartiser, Senior Scientist at Hydrotox Labor für Ökotoxikologie und Gewässerschutz GmbH. A PDF version of the publication is available for download on the Hydrotox website - HERE PDF - as well as online HERE (Springer Nature Link).

"Experimental approaches to data generation for REACH compliance of multi-walled carbon nanotubes: environmental fate" is the title of the publication that appeared in the journal "Environmental Science: Nano", Issue 3/2026. Stefan Gartiser, Senior Scientist at Hydrotox Labor für Ökotoxikologie und Gewässerschutz GmbH, is one of the contributing authors. A PDF download of the publication is available on the Hydrotox website - HERE PDF - as well as online HERE (HTML).

BPC confirms safe use of ethanol (CAS No. 64‑17‑5) in biocidal products.

On February 23, 2026, the BPC finally adopted, by simple majority, the view that the safe use of ethanol as a disinfectant in product types 1, 2, and 4 has been demonstrated.

However, the decisive issue remains unresolved: The committee did not reach a final toxicological conclusion regarding a possible classification as carcinogenic or reprotoxic. Uncertainty therefore continues with regard to a future CLP classification—although the CMR classification, originally based on the oral consumption of alcoholic beverages, is, for the time being, off the table. Consequently, ethanol will also not be considered a candidate for substitution under Article 10 of the BPR for the time being.

It is expected that the Standing Committee on Biocidal Products will follow the BPC’s recommendation and approve the active substance for disinfection purposes. The ongoing new studies addressing more realistic exposure routes also offer further hope that a CMR classification can also be avoided in the future.

What might your next steps be? 
Should the European Commission approve ethanol for the relevant product types as anticipated, manufacturers will—based on the current situation—be required to submit their product dossiers to ECHA no earlier than March 2028 in order to continue marketing their ethanol-containing biocidal products.

If you market ethanol-containing products and are unsure which requirements you will face, we at Dr. Brill Regulatory Services are here as your reliable partner. We support you in understanding regulatory requirements, developing strategic options, and efficiently planning and implementing the entire authorisation process for your products.

In addition, we are planning to establish a consortium to coordinate the product authorisation of ethanol-based disinfectants in the European healthcare sector.

If you are interested, please feel free to contact us.

Please click here to contact us directly.

From 16-17 September 2026, Mülheim will host PortPIC 2026 - the 7th In-Port Inspection & Cleaning Conference. Topics at PortPIC include aquatic invasive organisms, diver operations in ports, next-generation antifouling technologies, operators’ perspectives on cleaning, performance-based cleaning, regulations and guidelines, and robotic cleaning and inspection. Dr. Brill + Partner Institute for Antifouling and Biocorrosion will, of course, be there. We will inform you about the program and our contributions in due course - but please mark your calendars now, as we would be delighted to meet you or see you again in Mülheim!

On 1-2 October 2026, Norderney will once again become the gathering place for the antifouling community: That is when the third Antifouling Conference will take place there, an important industry gathering organized by the Maritime Cluster Northern Germany (Maritimes Cluster Norddeutschland, MCN) in collaboration with the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie, BSH), the German Sailing Association (Deutscher Motoryachtverband, DSV), and the German Motor Yacht Association (Deutscher Motoryachtverband, DMYV). The event will focus on innovative, environmentally friendly strategies to prevent fouling on ship hulls or other underwater structures.

A special highlight is the field trip to the Institute for Antifouling and Biocorrosion at Dr. Brill + Partner, which is hosting an exclusive visit to Norderney. On site, participants will gain insights into test facilities, laboratories, and ongoing research conducted under real-world conditions in a maritime environment.

The conference is complemented by a diverse program of presentations featuring contributions from renowned experts from academia, industry, and associations. It also offers numerous opportunities for in-depth discussion and networking. This year’s venue is located directly at the head of the pier, offering the best views of the Wadden Sea and the harbor entrance. At the end of the first day, an evening cruise on the Frisia XI and a barbecue at Dr. Brill + Partner provide the perfect setting for successful networking.

The event is free of charge, but only a limited number of spots are available. So be sure to mark your calendars now. We will provide details on the program, travel, and accommodations, etc., as soon as registration opens.

You can find our recap of the 2025 Antifouling Conference in Norderney, including the Biofouling Excursion, here: LINK

ICMCF 2026 - the 21st International Congress on Marine Corrosion and Fouling (ICMCF) - will take place this summer from 26-31 July 2026, in Berlin. Since its inaugural edition in France in 1964, the ICMCF has established itself as the leading international forum for scientific exchange on fouling and corrosion in the maritime sector. Over the decades, the congress has traveled the globe, bringing together researchers and experts from academia and industry. This unique mix fosters fruitful dialogue, strengthens collaboration, and supports the development of long-term professional relationships. True to this tradition, the upcoming ICMCF offers a wide-ranging, interdisciplinary program that presents the latest findings on biofouling and corrosion as well as innovative approaches to their prevention. The conference is organized by Fraunhofer IFAM, one of Europe’s leading research institutions in the field of applied materials science and surface technology.

Dr. Brill + Partner Institute for Antifouling and Biocorrosion will, of course, be represented at the ICMCF 2026 and is also expected to contribute to the program content (see below). We will inform you of further details in due course. Please feel free to use your visit to ICMCF 2026 to meet with our institute - we would be delighted to see you! Venue: Henry Ford Building, Freie Universität Berlin. All further information on ICMCF 2026, including registration, can be found here: www.icmcf2026.com

Submissions involving our institute (presentations and posters):

• Initial results of field and laboratory testing of non-biocidal and microplastic-reduced self-polishing and cleanable hard coatings (BioSHIP)
• Titel: North Sea – a perfect body of water for antifouling field tests
• The Blue Angel Ecolabel DE UZ 221: Sustainable antifouling solutions for maritime and inland shipping
• Titel: In situ cleaning and disinfection process for aquaculture systems using laser radiation underwater
• Titel: Field tests and AI-training for adaptive cleaning with an autonomous robot ‘LARABICUS’ (LABROID)

The e-learning course "Biofouling Management for Recreational Boats" already became available last year. Now, two new short videos have been created to further whet your appetite for this great e-learning course. You can find the videos at the following links:

• BSH Clip 1: "Biofouling - Invisible, but with major consequences"
• BSH Clip 2: "Good fouling protection starts with you!"

The e-learning course "Biofouling Management for Recreational Craft" is now available online. The course was created on behalf of the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH, Bundesamtes für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrografie) by our Institute for Antifouling and Biocorrosion on Norderney, in collaboration with Alex Jamil as film producer and Claudia James from HYGIENE COMPASS for making the course available on their online platform. For boat owners, clubs, associations and authorities, it serves as an awareness-raising, preventive measure with regard to the spread of non-native species, as well as to minimize the entry of harmful substances from antifouling coatings and emissions. In five chapters, the causes, development and effects of biofouling, protection against biofouling, alternative anti-fouling systems, cleaning technologies, biofouling management plans, regulations and further information options such as Fouling Atlas and Blue Angel are shown. Each chapter consists of a film followed by a questionnaire. The films last between 5 and 9 minutes, the questionnaires consist of 4 to 12 questions in multiple choice mode. The entire course takes about 45 minutes, but can also be completed in several stages. Participation is free of charge for everyone!

A short-term goal is to train "biofouling experts" in as many marinas as possible, who will inform users or club members about existing regulations and provide support, for example, in the choice of antifouling system (AFS) or the cleaning and maintenance of the AFS.

The long-term goal is to reduce the discharge of pollutants into the waters (inland, North Sea and Baltic Sea), CO₂ emissions and to minimize the introduction and spread of non-native species without negatively affecting the protection of fouling.

Detailed BSH press release in German languange - here: Link
Click here to go directly to the course in English language: e-learning course "Biofouling Management for Recreational Boats"

The German version can be found here: E-Learning-Kurs "Biofouling-Management für Sportboote"

We thank the partners involved:
BMDV-Expertennetzwerk
DSV Deutscher Segler-Verband
DMYV Deutscher Motoryachtverband
HYGIENE COMPASS
SportJobs Bildung und Bewegung

In the Journal "Infection Prevention in Practice" (Volume 8, Issue 2, June 2026) we published an article in collaboration with the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. The article titled "A novel method of simulated-use surface disinfection efficacy testing as Phase 3 Step 1 approach" presents a Phase 3 Step 1 simulated-use test which allows for efficacy testing of commercial disinfectants, incorporating micro-organisms isolated from the clinical settings, surfaces representative of them, and where the product is applied by trained participants. This internally validated method better represents clinical disinfection practices compared with current standardized tests and may support improved assessment of surface disinfectant efficacy under conditions approximating real-world hospital use. To see the full article, click HERE.

Dr. Brill + Partner Institute for Antifouling and Biocorrosion is expanding its range of tests to include two Taber abrasion tests in accordance with ASTM D4060, which are specifically tailored to the evaluation of marine coatings. In addition to the established dry test, we now offer an advanced Taber abrasion test as a wet test for the first time, which takes into account realistic conditions of use in the maritime sector. 

Taber abrasion test as a wet test: For the first time, we offer the Taber abrasion test as a wet test with a water-covered test plate. The method, further developed by Dr. Brill + Partner, simulates realistic conditions for underwater cleaning. Comparative studies show that many ship coatings exhibit significantly higher abrasion under wet conditions than in the conventional dry test. The method was presented at the PortPIC conference in 2025 and enables a practical comparison with market products. 

Taber abrasion test as a dry test: The proven Taber abrasion test according to ASTM D4060 as a dry test continues to be ideal for internal comparisons and screening tests of different coating systems. The test is carried out with two replicas in each case.

All services of Dr. Brill + Partner Institute for Antifouling and Biocorrosion can be found on our website www.brillinstitutes.com/en/antifouling. If you have any questions or are interested in the new Taber abrasion tests or one of the institute's other testing services, please feel free to contact us e.g. by email here: Contact

A cleaning robot is being developed at the University of Kassel that will be able to clean the hull of a ship while it is sailing. In the LABROID project, this robot platform is being expanded to include two technical components that will make it possible to shorten the cleaning interval to such an extent that commercial ships can completely dispense with biocide-containing paints while still being protected against biofouling.

The first technical component comprises a patented wing system combined with a self-aware control approach. The wing system enables the robot to cover its entire energy requirements from the flow of water around the moving ship. This allows continuous cleaning 24/7. The self-aware approach integrates the wing system into the robot control system and enables autonomous evaluation of the environmental conditions based on the operating parameters. This significantly reduces the risk of failure, enabling reliable protection against fouling.

In the second technical component, computer vision is used to assess the current fouling level so that the robot can independently recognize and learn which areas need to be cleaned and which should no longer be cleaned. Independent assessment of the fouling level is crucial and a unique selling point, as only a biofilm slime layer may be cleaned during operation. The robot must therefore be able to distinguish between the stages "clean", "slime layer", and "macroscopic fouling". Dr. Brill + Partner Institute for Antifouling and Biocorrosion will train the AI as "expert annotators" in this project. To this end, numerous underwater photos will be evaluated and specific fouling plates will be deployed and evaluated in order to obtain and evaluate new underwater photos.

LABROID is inspired by the cleaner fish "Labroides dimidiatus", which uses the flow of water around its host fish to move and rid it of parasites.

Project partner:

• Universität Kassel, Maschinenbau - Intelligent Embedded Systems
• Briese Schiffahrt
• Larabicus

Support measure:

The presentation that Dr. Florian H. H. Brill will give at the 14th International Akademie Fresenius Detergents and Cleaning Products Conference is entitled "Current regulatory developments on hygiene products & microbial cleaners". This presentation will take place during the session "Regulatory implications for hygiene & innovation". The presentation will cover the following topics:

• BPR: Stricter approvals, some actives banned, push for alternatives
• Probiotics: More microbial cleaners, unclear status (biocide/other), safety & claim checks
• Claims & greenwashing: Proof for hygiene claims, stricter green marketing rules

Also, Dr. Britta Brands, Dr. Brill + Prof. Bockmühl GmbH Institute for Applied Hygiene, will give a presentation entitled "Probiotic cleaning: Testing and performance evaluation" in the session "Probiotic cleaning - from concept to market".

The chairperson of the 14th International Fresenius Academy Detergents and Cleaning Products Conference is Professor Dirk Bockmühl. All information about the conference, which will take place on 17-18 September 2026, in Mainz, can be found HERE.

Our colleagues on site would be delighted to welcome you in person in Mainz - and are of course happy to assist you. To arrange an appointment in advance, simply send an email to info@brillhygiene.com.