Research Report June 97
By Norma Bennett Woolf
P&G, Johns Hopkins lead the way with research information
clearinghouse
The Procter & Gamble Company, the Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to
Animal Testing, and the Humane Society of the US have joined three government
agencies to fund and develop the Alternatives to Animal Testing Website.
"The major problem we face today is that there is no single definitive source
for information on alternatives to animals testing," said Alan M. Goldberg,
director of CAAT. "Establishing this website is the beginning of a long-term
effort by scientists and the animal protection community to bring together existing
information and create the opportunity to share new information on alternatives."
The effort is designed to bring together government agencies, the academic
community, animal protection groups, and private industry to encourage replacement
of existing animal methods with non-animal methods whenever possible; reducing
the number of animals needed; or refining research procedures to minimize pain
or discomfort of test animals where animal use remains necessary.
The website will serve as a resource for scientists seeking technical information
on alternatives in biological research, testing, and education; host bulletin
boards and discussion areas that allow scientists to share information; link
electronically to other sources of information on alternatives; have access
to a search engine that will improve current capability for searching the Internet
for information on alternatives to animals in testing, education, and research;
and provide information specifically geared to educators and the general public.
"P&G's investment in this website is in response to our scientists and consumers
who have shown growing support for our commitment to help develop alternative
methods of testing new ingredients for everyday products . . . methods that
don't involve testing on animals," said John Pepper, P&G chairman and chief
executive.
Although P&G has been a leader in developing such alternatives, it has frequently
been a target of animal rights demonstrations and protests.
The web address for the Alternatives to Animal Testing Website is http://infonet.welch.jhu.edu/~caat.
The Procter & Gamble Company announced the winners of two major research grants
from its International Program for Animal Alternatives in March. Each of the
researchers will receive up to $50,00 per year for a maximum of three years.
The recipients were:
- Gerard M.J. Beijersbergen van Henegouwen, professor at Leiden University,
The Netherlands, for development of a new method to test sunscreens; and
- Brian K. Schoichet, assistant professor, Northwestern University medical
School, for development of an improved computer model that will help screen
the toxicity of new materials.
P&G began the IPAA program in 1989 and has invested more than $55 million to
develop, validate, and promote acceptance of new alternative methods for safety
assessment and drug development. Since 1984, the company has reduced the use
of animals for safety testing in non-food and drug products by 90 percent and
has awarded IPAA grants for 23 research proposals.
Gillette awards $100,000 for in vitro tests
The Gillette Company, a favorite target of People for the Ethical Treatment
of Animals and other animal rights groups, has awarded two more grants for the
development of non-animal testing methods. The grant program funds only research
that uses neither animals nor animal cells.
Scientists getting this year's awards are Nader G. Abraham, PhD and Michal
L. Schwartzman PhD, both of the Department of Pharmacology at New York Medical
College, and James D. Zieske, PhD, of the Schepens Eye Research Institute, an
affiliate of Harvard Medical School.
Both research programs will use a patented human corneal epithelial cell line
developed by scientists at The Gillette In Vitro Testing and Research Laboratory
in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The cell line was developed with human corneas in
an effort to create a non-animals testing method to replace the modified Draize
eye irritancy test. The corneas are donated by an eye bank and are unsuitable
for transplants.
AWA amendment would tighten controls on dogs and cats sold
to labs
House Bill 594, a bill to amend the Animal Welfare Act to tighten the use of
dogs and cats for research by tightening controls on sources of the animals.
If the bill is passed into law, permissible sources of research canines and
felines will be:
a licensed dealer who has bred and raised the animal;
a publicly owned and operated animal shelter that is registered with the US
Department of Agriculture and has obtained the animal from its legal owner;
an individual who is donating the animal and who bred and raised the animal
or owned it for at least a year; and
a research facility licensed by the USDA.
The amendment will end the Class B dealer license that has been issued to dealers
who acquire dogs and cats from a variety of sources, including individuals,
pounds, shelters, breeders, and other dealers. Penalty for violation is $1000
for each transgression.
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