A Step in the Right Direction for Government Testing
Well, it’s taken 10 years of pressure and an exposé in The Washington Post based on a PETA report to get there, but it looks like the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM) might just finally start to do its job.
ICCVAM recently signed an international agreement with Europe, Canada, and Japan stating that these countries will work together on the creation of non-animal testing methods. To do this, they will begin sharing scientific recommendations on alternative toxicity testing methods.
It’s about time.
Although ICCVAM was created by Congress specifically to implement modern, reliable, non-animal chemical-testing methods, it has instead proved to be a major obstacle to its very mission. In the 11 years since its inception, ICCVAM has validated just one non-animal test method that originated in the U.S. By contrast, the European Union’s counterpart agency has validated a dozen.
ICCVAM still needs a major overhaul but hopefully, this new agreement will get the wheels turning worldwide and help speed up the process of developing and implementing new non-animal testing methods.
Written by Shawna Flavell
