Shift to new research strategies in preclinical drug development
Over the last decade, a shift in paradigms was initiated, focussing on the development, validation and regulatory acceptance of non-animal testing strategies in toxicology.
The Netherlands National Committee for the protection of animals used for scientific purposes (NCad) issued an opinion paper on objectives and transition strategies. The complete dossier can be assessed here:
ncad-opinion-transition-to-non-animal-research
While in the field of fundamental scientific research, the opportunities for a substantial reduction in the use of laboratory animals vary from one field to another and have to be assessed in a case-by-case approach, the NCad sees potential for a significant reduction in the use of laboratory animals in regulatory research.
The concept is ambitious, yet some advances have already been made. We highly appreciate the concept and in our daily project work, are using in silico and in vitro methods with a steadily increasing amount.