Asked by: Lord Gascoigne (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of recent initiatives launched by the US Food and Drug Administration to accelerate the replacement of animal testing with human-relevant methods; and whether they intend to adopt similar measures.
Answered by Lord Leong - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Government has reviewed recent US Food and Drug Administration initiatives to reduce animal testing in preclinical safety studies and is engaging with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency on accelerating the science-led adoption of alternative methods for drug development and testing. Through the Replacing Animals in Science strategy, the Government is investing in development, validation and regulatory uptake, including UK validation infrastructure and measures to build regulatory confidence. We will continue to monitor international developments, including in the US, and adopt approaches where supported by evidence and compatible with maintaining human, animal and environmental safety.