Better modeling to reduce animal testing

Drug testing via computer modeling, virtual tissue, and human and animal cells are helping the pharma industry move away from the use of animals as primary test subjects.

Researchers recruit tens of millions of animals annually for drug testing, reports The Baltimore Sun. Eighty to 800 are needed per drug.

Robert Kavlock, director at the EPA's National Center for Computational Toxicology, says animals represent the current "gold standard" in drug testing, according to the article. "But there is a collective recognition that we need to do better." And there are solid practical reasons to move away from the use of animals. A chemical that costs $6 million to $10 million to test might yield computer test results for "more like $20,000."

- here's the article

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