New EU action program to accelerate research for alternatives to animal tests

The fight against animal testing became more focused late last month, with the European Commission and leading pharmaceutical and chemical industry organizations and companies agreeing to a five-year plan to reduce the use of animals in product-safety evaluations. As far as the drug/medicines sector is concerned, these include the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) and the European Assocation for Bio-Industries (EuropaBio), as well as drugmakers such as Bayer, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer.

Initiated by the European Commission, the new European Partnership on Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing has published an action program. It follows the so-called "3 Rs" concept, aimed at refining, reducing and replacing animal use to meet regulatory safety requirements. The partnership was initiated a year ago.

In addition, the Commission has published guidelines for labeling cosmetic products as "not tested on animals." They will enable industry to indicate that no animal tests have been carried out by manufacturers and their suppliers in relation to the product development. Common criteria are applied for the use of such claims, in particular to ensure that they do not mislead the consumer or lead to unfair competition. Moreover, industries that chose to have this labeling must be able to prove the reality of the absence of animal testing.