Non-animal tox tests "make sense" as screening tool for in vivo tests, FDA says.
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
NON-ANIMAL TOX TESTS MORE APPROPRIATE AS SCREENING TOOL FOR CHEMICALS, FDA said, as federal agencies attempt to reduce the use of animal testing. The agency is concerned, however, with the replacement of all in vivo trials with in vitro assays. Commenting on legislation that would ask all agencies, including FDA, to adopt in vitro alternative testing methods recommended by the Inter-Agency Coordinating Committee for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM), FDA said it supports the development of non-animal toxicological tests but suggested their use might "make sense" as a first-tier screening mechanism that then could be used to determine the necessity of animal tests. HR 3946, the ICCVAM Authorization Act, was introduced May 22 by Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) with 36 co-sponsors ("The Rose Sheet" June 1, p. 7).