An article published in the peer-reviewed Medicolegal and Bioethics presents a rare challenge not just to the ethics but also to the science of using non human primates in research.
More Press Releases
Adverse drug reactions kill 197,000 Europeans annually
Jun 23, ’11
09:05 AM
In a letter addressed to EU Commissioner John Dalli, Antidote Europe points to the growing number of scientists who consider animal tests to be about as predictive as, or less than, tossing a coin.
Patients are now the real guinea pigs
Jan 6, ’11
12:48 PM
Antidote Europe welcomes recent French media reports warning the public about dangerous medicines.
BBC presenter Uhlenbroek joins scientists on campaign
Oct 12, ’10
09:00 AM
The campaign’s report presents an immediate science strategy to end poisoning tests on non-human primates.
Making a molehill out of the Bisphenol A mountain
Jul 6, ’10
02:45 PM
Antidote Europe has criticised the French government for taking very timid measures to ban the synthetic chemical bisphenol A (BPA). It makes no sense to protect nursing infants by banning the substance in baby bottles when their mothers are exposed to it on a daily basis — not to mention the effect on the foetuses of pregnant women.
Another warning about bisphenol A
Feb 10, ’10
06:39 AM
Antidote Europe has re-issued its warning on bisphenol A, criticizing the French Food Safety Agency (AFSSA) on its confused and unclear public announcements regarding this chemical.
Antidote Europe receives achievement award
Nov 26, ’09
06:47 AM
Antidote Europe was awarded the Pietro Croce prize.
Is Bisphenol A the new silent killer?
Aug 5, ’09
07:03 AM
Antidote Europe has launched a public campaign regarding the dangers of bisphenol A and has duly informed the new president of the European Parliament.
Bisphenol A, a chemical time bomb?
Jul 8, ’09
07:23 AM
It is difficult to understand why food safety agencies continue to place their trust in ambiguous animal data when human data is readily available. The fact that DES and BPA share striking similarities in their structures is extremely worrisome and lends weight to the possibility that BPA is a “chemical time bomb” in terms of our health.
Press Releases
New initiative aimed at improved risk assessment
Date
Tue 9 Oct 2007
Summary
The group Antidote Europe has submitted a non-animal test method to the EU authorities that would carefully screen any chemical before it could be put on the market.
A proposal for the adoption of a sophisticated non-animal test method has been submitted to ECVAM (1) and the OECD (2), the EU bodies largely responsible for evaluating new test methods. The proposal in question is called toxicogenomics, developed in the early 1990s, and represents the modern application of toxicology, in which human cells are exposed to a test chemical. Depending on the cell types used and the genes affected by the chemical, it is possible to determine the type of damage the cell will experience, which could include cancer or nerve damage, and even deleterious effects to the reproductive system.
Toxicogenomics is far cheaper and far faster than the traditonal animal tests, the latter recently having been described as ‘simply bad science’ by professor Thomas Hartung, ECVAM’s director. The prestigious US National Research Council has already embraced the concept of toxicogenomics, as is evidenced in a recent report, entitled “Toxicity Testing in the Twenty-first Century: AVision and a Strategy”(3)
It is vital that the EU regulatory authorities adopt toxicogenomics without delay, as an integral part of evaluating the toxic risk of the 30,000 chemicals in their REACH programme (4). This is all the more urgent given the fact that we already live in the midst of a ‘chemical epidemic’ in terms of our exposure to substances known to be highly toxic and many of which are linked to a significant increase in childhood cancers, neurodegenerative diseases and allergies.
The voluntary submission of toxicogenomics data is already encouraged by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMEA). The submission of this test proposal by Antidote Europe to the OECD and ECVAM represents an urgent call to action, aimed at those EU authorities responsible for safeguarding public health. Its immediate application will help to create a cleaner and safer environment for this and future generations.
Notes to editors:
A summary of the test proposal submitted to the OECD and ECVAM.
1. ECVAM (European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods)
2. OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)
3. See previous press release.
4. REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals), which entered into force on 1st June 2007.
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