PETA Statement Regarding Non-Animal Antibodies Against Novel Coronavirus

For Immediate Release:
May 14, 2020

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

Please see the following statement from Dr. Amy Clippinger, Director of PETA’s Regulatory Testing Department:

When rapidly searching for life-saving vaccines and treatments, researchers are turning to fully human, non-animal antibodies. These antibodies overcome numerous scientific issues associated with antibodies derived from llamas, camels, rabbits, mice, and other animals. In fact, animal-derived antibodies are one of the main drivers of the reproducibility crisis in research.

For scientific and ethical reasons, last month, the European Union Reference Laboratory for alternatives to animal testing (EURL ECVAM), a European government organization that plays a critical role in determining the scientific acceptance and regulatory use of non-animal testing methods within the European Union as well as globally, recommended an end to using animals to produce antibodies.

Not only are non-animal antibodies more scientifically robust, they are faster to make than animal-derived antibodies. As early as March 25, antibody research company YUMAB announced that it had generated the first human antibodies against the new coronavirus strain, and has since confirmed therapeutic effects using the patient-derived coronavirus strain SARS-CoV-2.

To share information about the applications and benefits of animal-free antibodies, the US National Toxicology Program Interagency Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods (NICEATM), the PETA International Science Consortium Ltd., and EURL ECVAM are organizing a free, publicly available webinar series.

In the first webinar of the series, scheduled for July, experts will speak about the use of animal-free antibodies to develop vaccines and treatments, including against the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.