An Environmental Law Institute and Johns Hopkins University Co-Sponsored Webinar
In 2007, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) recommended the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) follow a drastically different system for testing chemicals in their seminal report Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century. In September 2019, EPA announced efforts to minimize the testing of potentially harmful chemicals on animals by reducing such studies by 30% by 2025 and eliminating most vertebrate testing by 2035. Further, EPA has committed to funding research of alternatives to animal testing at various academic and medical institutions.
Proponents of this shift regard this as progress toward a system of toxicity testing that is more relevant to the human body. Yet others remain cautious of setting ambitious timelines given the present lack of robust alternatives to replace animal testing.
What are the benefits and challenges presented by EPA’s commitment to minimizing animal testing? What scientific, legal, and policy tools will be required to meet this goal in the timeframe set by EPA? Does the current regulatory landscape promote or inhibit the development of these tools? ELI, Johns Hopkins University, and leading experts explored these questions and more as they dove into the potential opportunities and risks of eliminating animal testing by 2035.
Panelists:
Paul Locke, Associate Professor, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Moderator
Sean Gehen, PhD, DABT, Leader, Global Regulatory Toxicology & Risk, Corteva Agriscience
Anna Lowit, Senior Science Advisor, Environmental Protection Agency
Kristi Pullen Fedinick, Senior Scientist and Director, Science and Data, Healthy People & Thriving Communities, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Kristie Sullivan, Vice President for Research Policy, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
Materials:
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