NIH Announces Plan to Replace Animal Use in Toxicity Testing

The National Institutes of Health announced on Jan. 30 a plan to guide progress toward replacing animal use in toxicity testing of drugs and chemicals.

A Strategic Roadmap for Establishing New Approaches to Evaluate the Safety of Chemicals and Medical Products in the United States was developed by the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods. ICCVAM, which includes representatives from 16 federal agencies, facilitates the development of toxicological testing methods that reduce and replace the use of animals.

In May 2017, Physicians Committee senior science policy specialist, Elizabeth Baker, Esq., attended ICCVAM’s annual public forum, where she provided input on the Roadmap, which was also submitted in writing in advance of the meeting.

The Physicians Committee regularly works with federal agencies and other stakeholders toward the common goal of replacing animal tests with more accurate approaches that are based on human biology.