Research commissioner urges better communication on animal testing alternatives
EU research Commissioner Janez Potočnik has called for better communication between researchers and regulators to hasten the formal approval of legitimate alternatives to animal testing. Speaking at the annual conference of the European Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing, in Brussels, the Commissioner noted that of 30 methods validated by the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM), only eight have so far gained regulatory acceptance.
EU research Commissioner Janez Potočnik has called for better communication between researchers and regulators to hasten the formal approval of legitimate alternatives to animal testing. Speaking at the annual conference of the European Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing, in Brussels, the Commissioner noted that of 30 methods validated by the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM), only eight have so far gained regulatory acceptance.
Potočnik said poor communications between industry and government bodies needed fixing. “If the needs of regulators for information are an obstacle, then we must engage more fully with them to identify and meet those needs. Closer relationships, clearer channels of communications and an ongoing dialogue are required,” he said. The Commissioner also called for academia to focus more on alternative testing, noting that there are only four professorships in the EU.
His call comes as a report on the latest available figures on animal testing has been released by the European Commission. This showed a 50% increase in 2005 in the number of animals used for cosmetics or toiletries tests across the EU, rising to 5,571. This was attributed mainly to one (unnamed) Western Europe member state, said the report.