Regulate animal testing with a sense of proportion and in a legally secure manner
(Berlin – 1 March 2024) The consultation on the draft bill to amend the Animal Welfare Act ends today. The planned provisions of Section 17 will further increase the already existing legal uncertainty for researchers working with animal testing. At the same time, the penalties for non-compliance are to be tightened. The biotechnology industry association BIO Deutschland criticizes the fact that the bill further increases uncertainty for researchers instead of providing relief and increases the possible penalties. The association therefore recommends clear definitions and a clear framework for all necessary studies on animals for the development of drugs and other products, as well as for legally required approval studies.
Oliver Schacht, Chairman of the Board of BIO Deutschland, explains: “Despite intensive research into alternatives, animal testing is still indispensable for academic research and preclinical drug studies, and in some cases is even required by law. It is therefore important that researchers are provided with a clear framework so that they can work safely and in compliance with the law. Unfortunately, the present draft does not meet this requirement. In the future, the need for animal testing can certainly be further reduced by biotechnological methods such as lab-on-a-chip, cell cultures or genome editing.”
Animal testing and alternatives to it are also topics discussed at the German Biotechnology Days, which will take place at the bcc in Berlin on 16 and 17 April 2024. www.biotechnologietage.de
About BIO Deutschland:
BIO Deutschland e. V., based in Berlin, has around 380 members – companies, bioregions and industry service providers – and aims to support and promote the development of an innovative industry in Germany based on modern life sciences. Oliver Schacht, Ph. D., is chairman of the board of BIO Deutschland.
Further information is available at: www.biodeutschland.org
BIO Deutschland's supporting members and industry partners are:
AGC Biologics, Avia, Baker Tilly, Bayer, BioSpring, Boehringer Ingelheim, BüchnerBarella, Centogene, Citeline, CMS Hasche Sigle, Deutsche Bank, Ernst & Young, Evotec, KPMG, Lonza, Miltenyi Bi otec, MorphoSys, Novartis, Pfizer, PricewaterhouseCoopers, QIAGEN, Rentschler Biopharma, Roche Diagnostics, Sanofi Aventis Deutschland, Simmons & Simmons, Thermo Fisher Scientific, SpringerNature, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Vibalogics, ZETA.
Contact:
BIO Deutschland e. V.
Dr. Claudia Englbrecht
Schützenstraße 6a
10117 Berlin
Tel.: +49 30 2332 164-32
Mobile: +49 151 14067326
E-Mail: englbrecht@biodeutschland.org