The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) no longer requires drugs to be tested on animals before moving to human trials, according to a provision in the omnibus spending bill recently signed by President Joe Biden.
The FDA Modernization Act 2.0, introduced by Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, was signed into law Dec. 29 and waives the requirement that drugs must be tested on animals for FDA approval. The FDA told NPR on Thursday it is now moving forward with implementing the provisions of the bill, including waiving the animal testing requirement.
Companies can still opt to test drugs on animals before moving to human trials if they wish to do so. But the waiver of the requirement will allow them to explore alternatives that advocates say are more humane and potentially less expensive.
“This signals a radical shift in the way drugs and treatments are developed,” People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said in a statement. “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be allowed to consider superior, non-animal drug testing methods, instead of requiring deadly and scientifically bogus animal tests.”
The issue brought unlikely allies together, with PETA praising the conservative firebrand Sen. Paul for introducing the legislation alongside Democratic New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker.
“The inclusion of this bipartisan effort is a step toward ending the needless suffering and death of animal test subjects – which I’m glad both Republicans and Democrats can agree needs to end,” Paul said.
Paul has been a leading advocate in Congress against government spending on, and requirements for, animal testing. He was also praised by Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Human Economy. “The FDA Modernization Act 2.0, to eliminate an archaic and debilitating government mandate for animal testing of experimental drugs, simply would not have become law without Rand Paul’s leadership, persistence, and medical background,” Pacelle said.
Taxpayers bankroll roughly $20 billion worth of animal testing per year, according to government watchdog group White Coat Waste Project.
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