LSRO's Reduced Risk Review Biological Effects Assessment (BEA) Committee met for the third time on the FASEB Campus, 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD on November 29-30, 2005. The BEA Committee members present were Mark W. Frampton, M.D., James P. Kehrer, Ph.D., Loren D. Koller, D.V.M., Ph.D., John F. Lechner, Ph.D., and Russell P. Tracy, Ph.D. John Ambrose, M.D. was in abstentia. The Core Committee members present were Elizabeth Anderson, Ph.D. and Carroll E. Cross, M.D. The LSRO staff members present were Michael Falk, Ph.D., Catherine St. Hilaire, Ph.D., Daniel Byrd, Ph.D., Amy M. Brownawell, Ph.D., and Carmen Mones, B.A.

The major goals of the meeting included finalizing committee decisions and recommendations regarding animal models, concluding discussions regarding human biomarkers, and designing strategies regarding the most appropriate uses of in vitro assays, animal models, and human biomarkers to analyze potential reduced-risk tobacco products.