Chemical Testing Method Proves Superior to Animal Trials

Microdosing of voluntary human subjects
determined to be accurate, safe and efficient

After two years of study, European scientists have shown that a chemical testing technique called microdosing is more predictive than animal-based research methods, and could replace expensive and unreliable tests on non-human subjects. Widespread adoption of microdosing could dramatically reduce or eliminate toxicity and other tests currently performed on species ranging from primates and dogs to rabbits and rats.

Microdosing involves administering a miniscule dose of the compound to be tested to human volunteers and analyzing the results using Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, which enables researchers to locate and count individual atoms. This technique has been shown to be more than 80% predictive, which is a much higher rate of accuracy than using other species to determine the physiological effect of a given compound on humans. Researchers say using the technology will increase cost-effectiveness and consumer safety while sparing animals from unnecessary suffering and death.

The European Union has mandated a ban on animal testing for cosmetics by 2009, and must comply with a European Parliament Declaration to set a timetable for eliminating all experiments on primates. In February, 2008, three powerful U.S. government agencies -- the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Toxicology Program (NTP), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) -- signed a five-year agreement to create innovative animal-free methods to evaluate the safety of drugs and chemicals, with the aim of phasing out animal tests entirely. Replacing animal tests with microdosing would help meet these goals while advancing human health.