AbbVie Becomes First Pharmaceutical Company to Ban the Use of the Forced Swim Test

After meeting with PETA, AbbVie became the first pharmaceutical company to ban the use of the forced swim test—in which mice, rats, and other small animals are placed in beakers filled with water from which they can’t escape and are forced to swim in order to avoid drowning. The company posted this landmark new policy on its website. The meeting followed PETA’s submission of a shareholder resolution calling on the company to stop funding, conducting, or commissioning the cruel test.