Alternative Methods Replacing Animal Testing in Research: An Overview

The discovery of new drugs involves their testing on animals for efficacy as well as safety before the approval. Millions of animals are being sacrificed to fulfill this need. But experimentation on animals during the past years has created a matter of attention to the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) for better care and handling of animals. The main aim of these committees is to reduce and finally exclude the animal use from the area of research with appropriate alternatives. Various alternative methods and organisms have been implemented and used respectively in this aspect in the last few years. Alternatives of animals serve the same purpose as that of utilizing whole animal for testing. The techniques such as in vitro method, computer model, stem cell, alternative organisms, use of biotechnology etc. might eventually replace the use of animals for testing and these approaches may provide an insight to minimum utilization of animals in s cientific research. Some alternatives of animal testing have been discussed in this article with some examples.