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Friday, May 21, 2004
The Government's establishment of a national centre to coordinate
work in the 3Rs of replacement, reduction and refinement of the
use of Animals and Medicines Research has received a warm welcome
from the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI).
"The UK-based pharmaceutical industry is already at the forefront
of investment and development of the 3Rs, but the Government's intention
to build on the excellent work of the Centre for Best Practice in
Animal Research (CBPAR) is very welcome," said Dr Philip Wright,
Director of Science and Technology at the ABPI.
"We are confident that this will add further impetus to the
many initiatives under way that aim to replace the number of animals
used in medicines research with other methods, reduce those that
still have to be used and further refine procedures to ensure even
higher welfare standards.
"The industry already has good links with CBPAR and we are
very much looking forward to working constructively with the new
centre."
The new centre - provisionally named the National Centre for the
Replacement, Reduction and Refinement of Animals in Research - must
retain CBPAR's practical approach to sharing best knowledge and
build on the excellent networks already created between industry
and academic institutions.
All research-based pharmaceutical companies must and do use alternatives
to animals wherever possible in medicines research. The industry
already works closely with other researchers in academia, Government-funded
organisations and charities to improve and update its research methods,
with information and best practice being widely shared in many different
ways.
Advances in biological knowledge and new technology - much of which
has come from the pharmaceutical industry - have led to big reductions
in the number of animals needed in many areas of research. Over
the past 20 years, the total has fallen by nearly half.
But animal research still remains an essential component of the
development of a new medicine. "We are still many years away
from being able completely to replace the use of animals in research,"
said Dr Wright. "However, I hope and believe that this new
centre, working in co-operation with industry, will move us yet
closer to this ideal."
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