AETOX - Asociación Española de Toxicología

Inventory of the Spanish Institutions and Scientists Involved in Alternatives to the use of Laboratory Animals (Refinement, Reduction or Replacement)+

Inventory: 3. Introduction

One of the present initiatives of the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods is to identify Laboratories and scientists within Europe which are active and expert in the various areas of alternatives to the use of laboratory animals. However, one of the difficulties in organizing activities to promote alternatives or to prepare international studies for the validation of new methods is to identify the active scientists interested in this area.

To aid in resolving such difficulties, a survey was carried out and an inventory of institutions and scientists involved in the area of alternatives to the use of laboratory animals (refinement, reduction and replacement) in Spain was prepared. This included institutions, individual scientists, ongoing projects and project financing institutions as well as an overall evaluation of the state of the art in Spain. The situation in the Spanish universities, industry and the Administration was also evaluated.

The main aim of this report is to indicate the state of the art in relationship to the use of alternative methods in Spain over the last thirty years, as well as the most recent development trends. In this context the more specific goals are:

to set up a picture of activities and initiatives in order to ensure better co-operation and to promote concerted action between the various partners for the development, validation and acceptance of in vitro methods
to provide a record of the main reference points
to identify the main Spanish institutions and scientists involved in alternative methods
to trace future challenges

The report is organized in four main parts.

The first part (3 to 8) focuses on an analysis of the activities which have contributed to the most recent developments in this area. The growth of critical interest in alternative methods arose mainly from the increasing attention paid to animal welfare by animal movements, the scientific community and interested industries. The legislation and the number of animals used and Spanish scientific productivity are reviewed.

The second part of the report (9 to 12) contains information about public and private sources of financing, promoters of alternative methods and related activities.

The third part of the report (13 to 22) contains the results of data collection obtained through questionnaires addressed to more than 1000 scientists. The inventory of Institutions and Scientists is followed by final comments and proposals. Finally, we present conclusions and recommendations that will give useful information to ECVAM and the European Commission. Bibliographic and legislative references and websites with information about alternatives are also included.

This report offers a view on the state of the art of in vitro methods in Spain to ECVAM, to the European Commission, to scientists, to private companies, and to the general public.This report is also an operative tool for those who want to establish contacts and to work in collaboration, to learn more about the subject and to share expertise, and for those who want to gather information on specific areas of interest, methods and approaches. For these reasons, the more specific objectives are:

to clearly identify as many as possible of the facilities involved in alternative methods in Spain, giving identical objective information for all of them
to encourage the development of alternative methods
to enable young scientists to choose the institution best suited for their training in new developing fields
to enable these institutions to be consulted and participate in validation and quality assurance programmes
to establish a network of consulting institutions in alternative methods
to optimize the outcome of past experience
to facilitate access to the field
to address future investments
to build up a record of the main reference points, such as scientific societies, public institutions and private groups
to set up a picture of activities and initiatives, in order to ensure better co-operation and promotion of concerted action between various partners for the development, validation and acceptance of in vitro methods

The authors intend to update this compendium periodically to take into account any changes in the facilities and to allow institutions not yet included in this edition to be added in any subsequent editions. For this purpose, a copy of the questionnaire is attached. This publication of the compendium must be regarded as a prototype. Therefore, suggestions for improvements in the quality of the information made available will be welcome.

Fuente / Source: Guillermo Repetto, Ana del Peso, Manuel Salguero, Manuel Repetto (1999) Inventory of the Spanish Institutions and Scientists Involved in Alternatives to the use of Laboratory Animals (Refinement, Reduction or Replacement) Revista de Toxicología 16: 50-127.