Replacing animals in research and testing

• moral/ethical concerns • public demand • scientific reasons - improved methods for research and testing • faster and less expensive way to get more information about a substance or compound • legislation - animal use not permitted when there are alternatives available

The proof that a method is relevant and reliable for its purpose

• cells change when removed from the body • difficult to assess/evaluate general/systemic toxic effects and pharmacokinetics • difficult to extrapolate in vivo dose-response • no (or limited) interaction between tissues and organs • specific organ sensitivity needs to be adressed one at a time • chronic effects are difficult to assess • one animal test may need to be replaced by a battery of tests and or intelligent testing strategies

• controlled testing conditions • lack of systemic effects • reduction of variablitiy between experiments • fast and inexpensive • small amount of test material is required • limited amount of toxic waste is produced • human cells and tissues can be used

• risk assessment • toxicity prediciton • regulatory decisions • drug discovery and lead optimisation

• education • biological production • diagnosis • toxicology and risk/safety assessments

• fundamental and medical research • long term effects • systemic effects

• strategies and strategic research funding • education • validation strategies • systematic review of animal models