3 November 2022

In 2021, the number of animals used for research testing in South Korea reached a record high of 4.8 million. This trend of increased in South Korea cuts against the global trend of development and adoption of innovative, non-animal approaches—the New Approach Methodologies (NAMs). Despite its current reliance on animals, South Korea is actively involved in the pursuit of innovative approaches including organ-on-a-chip technology, organoids and computer-based modelling. However, wider adoption of NAMs is slow and could be accelerated through stronger harmonization of efforts involving regulatory authorities and other stakeholders.

To provide the legislative support needed to advance the use of of NAMs, Humane Society International Korea (HSI/Korea) has been working with lawmakers, researchers, and industries to pass the PAAM Act. This bill, the Act on the Promotion of Development, Dissemination and Use of Alternative to Animal Testing Methods was introduced in 2020 at Korea’s National Assembly by Assembly member Ms. In-soon Nam.

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4 July 2022

Transparency in scientific publishing, to facilitate fair access to scientific journals for scientists using innovative non-animal methodologies for studying human biology, was  the subject of an April 20-21 workshop co-organized by the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine in collaboration with Humane Society International and other groups.

This workshop focused on a subject addressed in a 2021 roundtable session held at the 11th World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences (in 2021) entitled “Proof in animals”: Has journal editorial policy fallen behind advances in human-based approaches? The workshop was also informed by a survey conducted by HSI and PCRM in 2021, which brought to light the frequency with which journal reviewers required animal studies in cases where researchers had relied exclusively on non-animal studies. Survey responses suggested that requests for animal studies are so systematic that some researchers apparently conduct animal experiments alongside their use of non-animal models to avoid the risks of manuscript rejection and delay in publication.

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24 May 2022

by Bianca Marigliani

Current patients’ need for organ transplantation far exceeds the availability of donors [1]. This is a pressing issue with a distressing human cost: all over the world people die while still on the waiting list for donated organs. To address this issue and save lives, some scientists have proposed xenotransplantation as a solution for the worldwide organ shortage crisis and recent press reports have discussed breakthroughs with this technique.

The first successful heart transplant from a genetically modified pig to a human being hit the headlines in January [2]. The 57-year-old patient, who had advanced heart failure, received a pig’s heart with ten genetic modifications. These included knock out of certain pig genes and the addition of human genes to reduce the risks of rejection, as well as removal of a growth hormone receptor gene to reduce the growth of pig heart tissue after transplantation. Sadly, the patient died in March 2022. [Read more…]

9 December 2021

The September 2021 BioMed21 regulatory roundtable discussion in India focused on the way forward for the development of human biology-based technologies through sustained funding, training and education, and the in-country development of such technologies. The Centre for Predictive Human Model Systems, a collaboration between Humane Society International/India and the Atal Incubation Centre-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, organized the event as a follow-up to the first scientist roundtable that was held by them in December 2020.

The roundtable brought together key regulators from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization and the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission, government bodies like the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Animal Resource Facility and the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision on the Experiments of Animals, and public funding bodies like the Department of Biotechnology, and industry stakeholders to strategize the development and uptake of human biology-based methodologies.

In his remarks, Dr Vinay Nandicoori, Director, CSIR-CCMB, laid emphasis on the importance of stakeholder dialogue involving governments, regulatory bodies, and technology developers to promulgate development of these methodologies in India. The CEO of AIC-CCMB, Dr Madhusudhana Rao affirmed the impetus provided by such meetings to streamline the process of adoption of new model systems in regulatory mandates and drug development. [Read more…]