New FDA Law Ends Animal Testing Requirement for Drugs, Advances Humane and Efficient Testing Methods

The FDA Modernization Act 2.0, a new U.S. law, has repealed the requirement that drugs in development be tested on animals before being given to human trial participants.

Animal rights activists and some in the pharmaceutical industry have long argued that animal testing is ineffective and expensive.

A Victory for Animal Rights Advocates

According to Sen. Rand Paul, R-KY, the bill seeks to end "needless suffering and death of animal test subjects" and "get safer, more effective drugs to market more quickly by cutting red tape that is not supported by current science."

Earlier this year, Sen. Paul and Sen. Cory Booker, D-NJ, introduced the FDA Modernization Act 2.0, which the Senate unanimously approved in September.

Meanwhile, PETA has hailed the new law as a "radical shift" in developing new drugs and treatments. The group also noted that instead of requiring deadly and scientifically dubious animal tests, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would be allowed to consider superior, non-animal drug testing methods.

The group has long held that animal experimentation is cruel, unnecessary, and unethical. The unnatural and stressful conditions of captivity make the results of animal tests even less likely to apply to humans.

This law is an adaption that corresponds with a demand PETA scientists made of the FDA in 2020, the group said in a statement.

Humane Society International data shows more than 115 million animals are used in laboratory experiments yearly. However, the precise number is unknown because only a small percentage of countries collect and publish animal testing and research data.

A Closer Look at the New Law

NPR tells us that the law, which President Biden signed in December as a component of a larger spending package, does not outright prohibit testing new drugs on animals.

Instead, it eliminates requiring drug manufacturers to test new drugs on animals before conducting human trials. The use of animals in drug testing is still an option for companies.

Other approaches drugmakers can use to evaluate new drugs and treatments include computer modeling and "organs on a chip," which are tiny microchips the size of a thumb that can simulate how drugs affect organ function.

However, experts warn that companies that use alternative testing methods instead of animal testing must be aware of the methods' limitations to ensure that their drugs are safe and viable for use.

"The companies need to be aware of the limitations of those technologies and their ability to identify or not identify potential toxicities," said Aliasger Salem, a professor at the University of Iowa's College of Pharmacy.

Meanwhile, Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy, stated that the bipartisan legislation would not only save public and private dollars by making drug screening faster, better, and more efficient, but it would also save countless human and non-human lives.

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