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| When Botox's active ingredient is injected into mice, it causes paralysis and prolonged suffering, followed by death by suffocation. ©iStock.com |
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The U.S. government will begin financially supporting research and development efforts to replace a deadly animal test, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The Lethal Dose 50 Percent (LD50) test has historically been used by the company Allergan to test the potency of the active ingredient in the popular anti-wrinkle treatment, Botox®, and by other companies to test similar products
NIH's involvement in the issue is welcome—The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has been pushing for several years to replace the LD50 test with a non-animal alternative.
Lethal Test
The LD50 test is designed to find the minimum amount of Botox's active ingredient—the same nerve toxin that causes botulism—that will kill 50 percent of a test group of animals within 3-4 days.
When the toxin is injected into mice, it causes paralysis and prolonged suffering. Death results from suffocation after the breathing muscles become paralyzed.
Persistent Pressure
Over the last several years, The HSUS has urged Allergan to develop a non-animal alternative to the LD50 test. Most recently, The HSUS and partner Calvert Asset Management Company, Inc. filed shareholder resolutions urging Allergan to publicly disclose its efforts to develop a replacement test.
Allergan and its competitors are reportedly working on developing alternative tests, but progress has been slow.
Government Intervention
In 2006, the federal government—through its Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods—held an international workshop on the problem and identified promising areas for future research. However, at the time, no federal money was made available for such research.
Recently, the NIH began accepting applications from small businesses for grants in the range of $200,000 over three years to develop a non-animal alternative to the LD50 test.
"The HSUS applauds the NIH for seeking to speed up progress by offering financial support to small businesses interested in advancing this field" said Martin Stephens, HSUS vice president for animal research issues. "This may entice high-tech companies to help tackle the problem."
Updated July 8, 2009
