House of Lords Roundtable with Global Experts on Human-Specific Technologies
On Tuesday 12th November, in partnership with Baroness Natalie Bennett, we held a hybrid roundtable in the House of Lords that brought together leading experts in human-specific technologies. The inspiring group of international organisations, regulators and industry representatives discussed global progress in replacing animals in medical research and were joined by supportive Members of Parliament including Danny Chambers MP, Will Stone MP and Emily Darlington MP.
A huge thank you to our speakers: Professor Sue Gibbs, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Academic Center for Dentistry (Amsterdam) (acta); Dr Charu Chandrasekera, Founder & Executive Director at Canadian Centre for Alternatives to Animal Methods; Dr M.A. Akbarsha, General Secretary, Society for Alternatives to Animal Experiments, India; Dr James McBlane, Preclinical Assessor, MHRA; Dr Suzanne Fitzpatrick, Senior Advisor for Toxicology, FDA; Dr Dharaminder Singh, Lead Engineer, CN Bio; Dr Masoud Jamei, SVP, Research & Development, Certara; Dr Carl Westmoreland, Former Director of Science and Technology, Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre (SEAC), Unilever; Dr Ros Hannen, Founder and CEO, Keratify.
We heard about progress in The Netherlands from Professor Sue Gibbs, where strong financial support, as well as cross-sector hubs, are enabling the replacement of animal experiments. In Canada, Dr Charu Chandrasekara highlighted progressive work being done at Canada’s National Hub, and cited the International Space Station as a galvanising example of what humanity can achieve when nations unite towards a shared objective. In India, Dr Akbarsha advocated for cooperative relationships between domestic and international organisations so we can make much-needed progress. Dr James McBlane outlined the work of the MHRA, explaining some of the international context behind the guidelines which govern animal testing in the UK. From the USA, Dr Suzanne Fitzpatrick presented the FDA’s work to promote the development and use of human-specific technologies.
Our in-person participants posed for a photo after discussions
Up next were our industry representatives Dr Dharaminder Singh (CN Bio), Dr Masoud Jamei (Certara), Dr Carl Westmoreland (Unilever) and Dr Ros Hannen (Keratify), who each presented how their innovative, cutting-edge technologies can provide solutions in medical research, and the barriers and opportunities they face. Isobel Martin, our Public Affairs Director, rounded off the morning with a presentation on our call for Herbie’s Law – legislation to enable the phase out of animal testing in medical research.
After the presentations, it was brilliant to be able to facilitate open discussion between MPs and our expert speakers. The passion and drive for progress was felt by all attendees.
In the days following the roundtable we have been busy digesting what we heard from our expert participants from around the world. For us, it is clear that the UK must join other countries on the leading edge of innovation and accelerate the development and use of human-specific technologies, or risk being left behind. We believe that to do this, it is imperative that the UK Government introduces Herbie’s Law.
