An ambitious plan to overhaul how potentially toxic chemicals are tested, which could drastically reduce live animal testing, was announced by US government scientists on Thursday.
The drive also promises to cut costs, and improve testing accuracy. 快猫短视频s will research and develop the capacity to test new chemicals and drugs on cultured human cells, according to a five-year memorandum of understanding signed on Thursday between two US National Institute of Health bodies and the US Environmental Protection Agency.
鈥淭his really has the potential to revolutionise the way toxic chemicals are identified,鈥� says , director of the NIH鈥檚 National Human Genome Research Institute, in Bethesda, Maryland. 鈥淎nimal testing is time consuming, expensive and doesn鈥檛 always relate to what is toxic in humans.鈥�
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In place of laboratory animals, researchers will use that allows them to test batches of different chemicals on rows of individual cells or molecules at the same time.
Growing backlog
Using the technique could significantly reduce the growing backlog of new compounds that have yet to be tested.
鈥淲e can do in a single afternoon what it has taken the last 30 years [to do] in animals,鈥� says , director of the NIH鈥檚 Chemical Genomics Center.
The two agencies will spend the next 5 years testing the new approach, which is currently used by pharmaceutical companies in testing compounds for therapeutic purposes. The overall budget for the collaboration has not yet been determined.
The announcement was discussed at the annual meeting in Boston, US.
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