In 2020, 2.88 million procedures involving animals were conducted in Great Britain, with 50% related to experimental purposes and over half of those associated with basic research. Despite the ban on cosmetic testing on animals in some regions, including the European Union’s 2013 prohibition on selling cosmetics tested on animals, the progress was hindered by the REACH legislation. REACH, enacted in 2007, mandates companies to meet specific criteria for chemicals imported or manufactured in Europe, potentially requiring animal testing if safety data is incomplete. Advocates stress the need for human-relevant testing methods to counter the possibility of new legislation favoring animal tests, emphasizing that such methods produce results directly applicable to humans.

Dr. Sudeep Joshi, a scientist at The Francis Crick Institute and King’s College London, received a £10,000 award for his work on the physical ‘printing’ or 3D bioprinting of human tissues. This innovative approach aims to replace animal testing in the safety assessment of drugs and chemicals. The funding supports the development of advanced techniques that could revolutionize testing methodologies, offering more accurate and ethical alternatives to traditional animal experiments in the field of drug and chemical safety.