PETA Science Group Celebrates 10 Years of Advancing Animal-Free Toxicity Testing

For Immediate Release:
November 9, 2022

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

With its spotlight on non-animal tests, PETA Science Consortium International e.V. has helped transform toxicity testing and the definition of good science. Its 25 scientists located in Belgium, France, Germany, India, the U.K., and the U.S. are now celebrating a decade of success in collaborating with government agencies and corporations to replace animals in toxicity tests and in the funding and development of cutting-edge, animal-free methods.

Today, the group released a report showcasing its impact in advancing the field of non-animal toxicity testing.

The Science Consortium was established to modernize toxicity testing globally, as regulatory agencies around the world require the testing of chemicals, pharmaceutical drugs, pesticides, and other substances to assess their potential to harm humans, wildlife, or the environment. Millions of animals are used each year in these tests, many of which are decades old. In its first decade, the Science Consortium has spared countless animals painful, deadly tests.

“Now more than ever, harnessing the power of modern science and technology allows us to make accurate predictions about the potential of substances to cause adverse effects, keeping our friends, family, and world safer,” says Science Consortium President Dr. Amy Clippinger. “We are grateful for the fruitful partnerships we have made over the past 10 years and look forward to many more years of advancing reliable and relevant animal-free science.”

The report features successful collaborations with government, industry, method developers, academics, and nongovernmental organizations on precedent-setting projects. For example, funding from the group helped create a first-of-its-kind, three-dimensional model that can study the effects of chemicals on the deepest part of the human lung.

The Science Consortium also funded a project that led to the creation of fully human-derived antibodies capable of blocking the toxin that causes diphtheria to replace the existing diphtheria treatment that’s produced using horses. Another project involved collaborating with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on research that resulted in a policy preventing hundreds of birds each year from being used in tests that have produced duplicative information.

For more information, please visit ThePSCI.eu.