Scientists to Showcase Cutting Edge, Animal-Free Technology at International Conference

PETA Experts Will Highlight Superiority of Non-Animal Testing Methods

For Immediate Release:
August 16, 2017

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

At the Tenth World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences next week, attendees will hear from PETA scientists on matters ranging from the cruel and failed attempts to mimic human muscular dystrophy (MD) using dogs to the development of a three-dimensional lung tissue model to replace animal use in inhalation testing.

“PETA has more scientists working on non-animal testing methods than any other animal-protection organization, and our cutting-edge projects will be well represented at the premier conference on alternatives to animal use,” says PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo.

In addition to exposing the lack of scientific validity in MD experiments on dogs and sepsis experiments on mice, PETA posters will cover issues relating to nonhuman primate use and the exclusion of mice and rats from the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA).

Scientists from the PETA International Science Consortium Ltd.—which was founded in 2012 to accelerate and fund the development, validation, and global implementation of animal-free science—will be giving talks on technology to replace animals in eye irritation testing, inhalation testing, and antitoxin production. The Consortium will also have a booth at the conference and be providing free information about non-animal test methods.

Posters and oral presentations by PETA and the Consortium will include the following:

• Muscular Dystrophy Studies on Dogs: Time for a Change: This poster showcases how decades of deliberately breeding dogs to suffer from debilitating MD have not led to any cure for the disease in humans.
• Some Animals Are More Equal Than Others: This poster analyzes how the exclusion of mice and rats from the AWA has exposed them to pain, injury, and death stemming from neglect, incompetence, and disregard.
• Maintaining the Status Quo: U.S. National Institutes of Health Squanders Opportunity to Strengthen Protections for Nonhuman Primates in Laboratories: This poster critiques the NIH’s failure to take seriously the congressional directive to conduct a review of the ethical policies and processes governing the use of nonhuman primates in experiments in order to ensure appropriate justification.
• An Integrated Approach for Assessing the Inhalation Toxicity of Nanomaterials: This presentation describes ongoing work to develop an in vitro system to predict the development of pulmonary fibrosis in humans following inhalation of nanomaterials.
• Lessons Learned: U.S. EPA Office of Pesticide Programs’ Acceptance of Alternative Eye Methods: A joint effort between industry, nongovernmental organizations, and the Environmental Protection Agency has led to the development of an in vitro testing strategy to determine eye irritation of antimicrobial cleaning products under the EPA Office of Pesticide Programs’ hazard classification and labeling system. This presentation will discuss the remaining challenges to replace the animal test worldwide and the use of the alternative strategy for the evaluation of conventional pesticides.
• Development of Recombinant Human Diphtheria Antitoxin: This presentation will discuss the development of human monoclonal antibodies against diphtheria toxin that can be produced in cell culture to replace equine sera for therapy. This work is being funded by the Consortium.

For more information, please visit PETA.org and PISCLtd.org.uk.