The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is dragging its feet to update drug testing regulations that will modernize drug development and spare countless numbers of animals from unnecessary suffering. The FDA Modernization Act 2.0 was enacted two years ago, requiring the agency “to allow for alternatives to animal testing for purposes of drug and biological product applications.” However, the FDA has failed to amend regulations to reflect this change. Countering this inaction, the bipartisan FDA Modernization Act 3.0 (S. 355) was introduced to Congress and directs the FDA to implement the law to make it clear that data from non-animal methods will be accepted as part of the drug approval process.
Urge the FDA to modernize drug development by allowing the use of alternatives—it will help to save lives!
The FDA’s drug testing approval process is based on a decades old law and technology that relies on animal tests. Considering that it’s widely acknowledged that over 90% of new drugs tested on animals fail in human clinical trials, it’s time for the FDA to reduce its dependance on animal test data that is not directly applicable to human conditions. Instead it should embrace modern, human-based technologies such as computer modeling, 3D cell cultures, organoids, and organs-on-chips. Doing so will save lives, better protect human health, improve the lives of patients, and optimize valuable resources—without subjecting animals to pain and suffering.
